Lighting a Fire
by madmother2
Summary: A chance encounter whilst on shore leave has long term consequences. Contains spoilers.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: Star Trek is the property of Paramount. I own nothing.

Author's note: This story takes place after Generations and after Deanna's relationship with Worf has ended.

Chapter One

Deanna Troi wandered idly round Ydea's main resort, revelling in there being nothing that she had to do. She was on leave, on a beautiful planet with shops, theatres and spas and she could do whatever she wanted. There were no patients to see and, best of all, no reports to write. Deanna loved her life in Starfleet but there were disadvantages. As an empath, she sometimes found being on a Galaxy Class ship, with over a thousand people on board, overwhelming. The need to shield herself constantly was exhausting and sometimes her shields were not strong enough. The other disadvantage was the paperwork. Starfleet had paperwork for everything and moving up the ranks led to more and more of it. Some of it, such as patient notes, was essential but some of it was meaningless nonsense. Luckily, Beverley Crusher hated meaningless paperwork and could be relied on to send the most pointless paperwork back to Starfleet Headquarters with a ferociously worded request for the originator to stop wasting her staff's time. Deanna smiled to herself as she remembered the last time that had happened. The offended bureaucrat had complained to Captain Picard who had reviewed Beverley's actions, decided that they were fully justified and had given the pompous idiot a dressing down which left him pale and terrified.

Deanna's wanderings had brought her to the pool complex and she decided to sit down and have a cold drink whilst she decided what to do next. Finding a poolside kiosk, she bought some chilled fruit juice and sat down on a sunbed. Within five minutes she had been joined by a trio of young men. All three of them were attracted to her and for while she toyed with the idea of having a fling with one of them, but they were too young and too full of themselves to be attractive to her. She no longer found brash young idiots sexy. They usually had no idea how to please a woman and she wasn't in the mood to teach them.

Finishing her drink, she took her glass back to the kiosk and wandered off. A minute or two later, she realised that one of the men had followed her. Carefully lowering her shields slightly, she opened herself to his surface emotions. There was lust there but controlled and overlaid by a happy feeling, which she identified as optimism. He was probably sure he could convince her to go on a date with him. Deanna looked round for a way to tactfully escape from him. If necessary, she would be completely blunt with him but the emotional turmoil that would cause would leave her tense and upset.

She was just wondering whether he was young enough to be too embarrassed to follow her into a lingerie store, when she recognised a familiar emotional pattern; the Captain was nearby. Lowering her shields a bit more she scanned ahead of her. Using her vision and empathic senses together was always a bit odd as a person's mind could seem to be right on top of her whilst their body was some distance away. But it was useful as her empathic senses could tell her which way to look. After a few seconds she saw the Captain, about fifty yards away from her, talking to a middle-aged woman. Deanna walked quickly towards them. As she got closer, she realised that the Captain was trying to get away from the woman. She kept talking to him but he was edging away, his whole body language negative,

'I can assure you, you'd have a very _good_ time,' said the woman, suggestively.

Deanna nearly laughed as she realised what had happened; in going to the Captain to be rescued from an awkward situation, she was going to rescue him. Smiling, she called out,

'Jean-Luc, there you are.'

He turned and without hesitation, she slipped her arm round his waist and rested her head on his shoulder saying,

'It's time to get ready for dinner.'

Jean-Luc's arm automatically came up and circled her waist. Years of diplomatic training enabled him to control his surprise. Smiling down at Deanna, he said,

'Is it that time already? I had no idea it was so late.'

'Yes, we should really be getting back if we don't want to miss our reservation.'

Smiling politely, Jean-Luc said goodbye to his would-be seducer. They had met in the museum and a friendly discussion about early Ydean pottery had clearly given her the wrong impression. Thankfully, Deanna's timely appearance enabled him to withdraw without having to be rude, something that he always hated. His mother had been very strict about politeness and he always felt very guilty if he was rude to someone. He and Deanna walked away, casually holding hands.

They turned a corner and he went to let go of Deanna's hand but she held on firmly. He shot her a questioning glance and she murmured,

'Young man, twenty-five yards behind us.'

Amused, Jean-Luc waited for a few seconds and then glanced behind them. About thirty yards away and looking disappointed was man in his early twenties. He was good-looking and athletic and Jean-Luc wondered why Deanna wasn't interested. He'd obviously failed one of her mysterious criteria, if they actually existed. He'd listened with amusement one evening as she and Beverley explained to Will that they had specific criteria for choosing men, which were immutable and impossible to explain but meant that Will had no chance with either of them. At the time he'd been sure that they'd been punishing Will for something.  
He waited another couple of minutes, then asked,

'Are we still being followed?'

'Yes. Sorry about this, Sir. I didn't expect him to be this persistent.'

'It's Jean-Luc whilst we're on shore leave, please.'

'Right,' said Deanna, apologetically, feeling annoyed with herself. She'd convinced him to be more relaxed when off duty and then she called him 'Sir'. Well done, Counsellor.

'And there's no need to apologise. You rescued me from Avayla. I'm only too happy to return the favour. Why is the young man being so persistent?'

'I don't know. I only spoke with him for a few minutes. I was surprised when he followed me.'

Jean-Luc took a proper look at Deanna. She was wearing a blue and white sundress that showed off her figure and had her hair down. She looked incredible.

'He's probably never seen someone as beautiful as you.'

Deanna looked at him in shock as her assumptions about him were shattered by his words and the emotions that she could sense from him.

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	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: Star Trek is the property of Paramount. I own nothing.

Chapter Two

Deanna quickly controlled her shock but she knew that the Captain had noticed; he was using a Vulcan shielding technique that he'd learnt from Sarek to hide his emotions and his face had frozen for a moment. There had always been body chemistry between them but he had never implied, by word or deed, that he wanted anything other than a professional relationship with her. But he had _meant_ what he'd said. They were holding hands so she was able to read his surface emotions very clearly and he truly thought she was beautiful.  
Even though she was deep in thought, Deanna realised that the Captain was withdrawing into himself, obviously concerned that he'd offended her. Hesitantly, she said,

'It's all right.'

'Is it?'

'Yes. You just surprised me, that's all.'

'By complimenting you? Surely you must be used to compliments.'

'It's been a while since someone told me I'm beautiful.'

'Really? Then you were clearly in even more need of shore leave than I was.'

Deanna looked puzzled for a moment but then she realised that he was right. For long serving members of Starfleet, working relationships dominated their lives and compliments tended to revolve around work.

'I think I was,' she admitted, 'The stress had got to me more than I had realised.'

Jean-Luc shot her a concerned look. Their last mission had been supposed to be a routine diplomatic assignment but it had gone horribly wrong. They had managed to stop it from leading to interstellar war but at the cost of four dead and over fifty injured. He had been working eighteen hours a day, salvaging the diplomatic situation. Deanna had worked alongside him for several hours a day and had then held counselling sessions for another eight hours every day. She had done this until she was about to collapse from exhaustion. It had been Selar who had realised what Deanna was doing, thanks to her detail-obsessed Vulcan mind. After conducting a brief physical examination, a horrified Beverley had put Deanna on compulsory sick leave.

'Are you feeling better?'

'Yes.'

The monosyllabic reply was unlike Deanna and clearly indicated that she didn't want to talk about it. Jean-Luc hesitated for a moment but then reminded himself that he wasn't a counsellor and that meddling would probably not help. To distract her, he said,

'Is that besotted boy still following us or have I scared him off?'

'Besotted? Horny, you mean,' Deanna paused for a moment, 'Yes, he's still there.'

'He probably can't believe you'd be with someone so much older than you.'

'More fool him, then. I'd far rather be with you than with him,' said Deanna, tartly.

Her sharp reply surprised Jean-Luc. There was clearly something bothering her and Jean-Luc wondered if it was connected with her failed relationship with Worf. Perhaps he could cheer her up,

'In that case, why don't we confound him by having dinner together?'

Deanna smiled,

'Why not?'

'Good. I've got a reservation at a French restaurant for seven o'clock, if that's not too early?'

'No, that sounds fine.'

'Where are you staying?'

'At the Ydea Paradise Hotel. Beverley recommended it.'

'She recommended it to me as well,' said Jean-Luc, smiling.

They had agreed to meet in the hotel lobby at six-thirty but Jean-Luc deliberately arrived a couple of minutes early, so that he would be there to see the reaction when she arrived. He wasn't disappointed. The lobby was noisy but when Deanna got off the lift the noise level plummeted as everyone stopped to watch her. She was wearing a simple A-line dress in red, which outlined her curves. Her hair was pulled back from her face and she looked like every man's dream of beauty.  
Within seconds, two men were angling towards her, clearly hoping that she was unattached. Jean-Luc walked purposefully across the lobby, making sure that he got there first,

'Deanna, you look wonderful.'

'Thank you. So do you.'

Jean-Luc smiled and led her to a waiting taxi.

The trip across the city was spent exchanging information about the landmarks that they were passing, with the taxi driver joining in with suggestions of new places to visit. As they arrived, Jean-Luc said,

'I should warn you that the owner is a friend of my brother's so he'll probably want to talk about our childhood pranks. I hope you won't be too bored.'

'Don't worry, I'll probably find it interesting. I've always wondered what it would have been like to grow up on Earth.'

Jean-Luc grimaced,

'You're more likely to find out how truly infantile teenage boys can be.'

Deanna smiled,

'I already know that.'

They went into the restaurant and were immediately greeted by a tall, dark-haired man, who embraced Jean-Luc,

'Jean-Luc, it's good to see you.'

'It's good to see you too, Gabriel. This is Deanna.'

'Deanna, welcome to the Poisson D'Ore.'

Deanna and Gabriel shook hands. Gabriel let his gaze wander appreciatively over Deanna's body and Jean-Luc felt a surge of anger go through him. Suppressing the urge to hit Gabriel, Jean-Luc asked,

'How are you enjoying life on Ydea?'

'The Ydeans are a wonderful people. They love good food and good wine and they like to eat and drink in the company of friends. I have had to take on three more waiters and two more sous-chefs. But, how are you?'

'I'm well. The Enterprise is undergoing some minor repairs so I'm taking a couple of weeks shore leave.'

'You left your ship voluntarily?'

'He was probably sedated and beamed down unconscious,' said Deanna.

Gabriel chuckled while Jean-Luc tried to look indignant,

'It was entirely voluntary,' he said with dignity.

'So Beverley didn't threaten you in any way?'

Jean-Luc tried not to look embarrassed as he admitted,

'She did make a few comments about Starfleet regulations pertaining to accumulated leave and the Chief Medical Officer's duty to keep senior officers healthy.'

Gabriel and Deanna both laughed.

Dinner passed quickly, with Gabriel bringing out choice dishes and specially selected wines. Deanna watched as the wines were all tasted with due ceremony before being poured into their glasses. Being Lwaxana's daughter, she had drunk some very good wines and she could tell that these were excellent. Gabriel and Jean-Luc talked for a while about wine but Gabriel kept being called away, as more and more people arrived at the restaurant.

After rounding off their dinner with a liqueur, they left reluctantly, promising to return again before they left Ydea. In the taxi, Deanna casually let her head rest on Jean-Luc's shoulder, feeling happy and relaxed. They chatted idly about their plans for the next few days during the journey back to the hotel and, once there, Jean-Luc automatically accompanied her up to her room. Taking her door card out, Deanna said,

'Would you like a cup of Earl Grey?'

Jean-Luc nodded and followed her in to her room.

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	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: Star Trek is the property of Paramount. I own nothing.

Chapter Three

Deanna's room was essentially the same as his, Jean-Luc realised, furnished in the same way that hotel rooms for humans were all over the galaxy. A king size bed with bedside cabinets, a small sofa with coffee table, a wardrobe, a replicator and a door leading to an en-suite bathroom. The décor was neutral but pleasant. Deanna casually gestured to the sofa and Jean-Luc sat down whilst Deanna went to the replicator,

'Earl Grey? Or would you prefer something stronger?'

'Earl Grey please.'

Deanna ordered his Earl Grey and ordered something tongue-twisting for herself. Jean-Luc watched her as she walked across the room, admiring the sensuousness of her walk.

Deanna put the drinks on the table and sat down beside him. The sofa was _very_ small for two adults and they were touching from shoulder to thigh. Jean-Luc was very glad that he knew that Deanna knew that he found her attractive because with that amount of contact between them there was no way he could have hidden it from her. As it was, he accepted the surge of pleasure as a natural consequence of the body chemistry between them and made no attempt to hide it from Deanna.

Deanna sipped her Betazoid herbal tea and looked at Jean-Luc thoughtfully whilst they talked about the meal they'd just had. Jean-Luc was looking particularly attractive tonight. He was wearing black trousers teamed with a dark green shirt, both tight enough to be enticing without being revealing. She wondered if he'd deliberately put something sexy on or whether he'd just had those clothes with him. She could feel the attraction between them and when she lowered her shields she realised that he was making no attempt to stop her from reading his growing arousal. As she extended her empathic senses, Deanna felt her own arousal grow. A small part of her brain suggested that she should stop and think about what she was about to do but it was drowned out by a wave of desire, whether hers or his, she didn't know. Deanna turned in her seat, put her hand on Jean-Luc's cheek and leaned in to kiss him.

When Deanna kissed him, Jean-Luc's first reaction was surprise, quickly followed by pleasure. When she drew back, he gently put his hand on the back of her head and pulled her back towards him so he could kiss her again.  
They kissed for several minutes and Deanna found herself quivering with lust. Jean-Luc was a very good kisser; his lips firm but not rough. He moved his lips along her neck, checking her responses until he found the spot below her chin that drove her crazy. Deanna normally had to tell her lovers about it as human women were not usually sensitive there, but Jean-Luc kept coming back to it, kissing and gently nibbling until she was moaning helplessly.  
Frantic now, she fumbled with Jean-Luc's shirt buttons, eventually getting them open, so she could run her hands across his chest. Feeling his muscles under her hands was intoxicating and Deanna pushed his shirt off and spent several minutes running her hands up and down his arms. She was about to tackle his trousers when the pleasure she was feeling suddenly hit a new high. Whilst she had been removing Jean-Luc's shirt he had found the fastening to her dress and slipped it down her shoulders and he was now pinching her nipples through her bra. Groaning, Deanna held his shoulders as he kissed her beneath her chin at the same time.  
Jean-Luc's lips moved to her mouth and his hands moved behind her to find the clasp of her bra, easily undoing it. They had to separate so she could take off her dress and bra and Deanna took advantage of the moment of clarity to lead Jean-Luc to the bed. They pushed the covers on to the floor and Deanna pulled him on to the bed, to lie beside her.  
The first touch of her bare breasts against his naked chest made them both gasp. Jean-Luc's mind was open to hers and Deanna's mind spiralled into a feedback loop as his arousal fed hers and she reflected it back to him.  
The pleasure was getting so intense that to Deanna it seemed as if only they existed. The background emotions from everyone else around them vanished from Deanna's mind. She was hardly aware of the last items of clothing being removed but the feeling of his naked body against hers made her acutely aware of every millimetre of both their bodies. Every nerve ending seemed alive and every touch sent more fire screaming down her pathways. She and Jean-Luc explored each other bodies listening for gasps of pleasure and watching for shivers of excitement. Jean-Luc was geuninely curious and seemed happy to continue the foreplay indefinitely, determined to find out what made her squirm and gently fending her off when she reached down wanting to make him squirm in turn.  
However, Deanna was too impatient to wait for long and, obedient to her tugging fingers, Jean-Luc reluctantly stopped exploring and concentrated on finding the best position to give her pleasure. The joining of their bodies intensified every sensation and she was aware that Jean-Luc was struggling to control himself. As they moved together she peaked and peaked again, crying out his name each time. Eventually Jean-Luc's self-control shattered and she joined him in a final climax before collapsing beside him, sated and breathless.

By the time her breathing had got back to normal, Jean-Luc was asleep. Deanna smiled; it was nice to know that he was a typical man in some respects. Because that hadn't been typical. One advantage of being an empath was that she always climaxed, her climax triggered by her partner's. Her Betazoid heritage meant that multiple orgasms were easy for her but few men gave her multiple orgasms the first time. She definitely wanted a repeat but would Jean-Luc be willing? She knew him well enough to know that his first reaction on waking up would be guilt. He would feel guilty because she was part of his crew and he would feel guilty because he was in love with Beverley. And she wasn't ready for another relationship yet. As Deanna thought about relationships, an old memory came back to her and she realised that she had a solution that might cover all their problems.

Smiling happily, Deanna pulled the covers up over their bodies and went to sleep.

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	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: Star Trek is the property of Paramount. I own nothing.

Chapter Four

Jean-Luc Picard woke slowly, feeling slightly the worse for wear. He was thirsty and his back ached. As he opened his eyes, the memory of last night's activities returned like a thunderbolt. He was in a bed with Deanna Troi. Who was an officer under his command and his counsellor. And they'd had sex. Amazing, mind-blowing sex. It had been wonderful and it was possibly the stupidest thing he'd ever done. He'd abused his position and guaranteed that Beverley would never speak to him again. With her temper, he'd probably wake up one morning to find he'd had a sex change overnight, if she didn't kill him. No, thinking about it, she'd be far more likely to send him a full analysis of his failings as an officer and a human being, copied to everyone she knew. Since Beverley had an astonishing ability with words, Jean-Luc decided he'd prefer the sex change. As for his career, perhaps Admiral Nechayev would let him resign rather than court-martial him, for Deanna's sake.

Deanna woke abruptly, the force of Jean-Luc's emotions roiling through her. He had started to dress but as she sat up, he forced himself to turn to face her,

'Deanna, I'm sorry. What I did was inexcusable.'

'What? Responding to the advances of a junior officer?'

'What?'

'Jean-Luc, I made advances to you. It's allowed.'

Jean-Luc paused as he replayed the events of the previous night in his head. Deanna had made the first move and Starfleet regulations did allow relationships as long as the more junior officer made the first move. A wave of relief washed through him and he sat on the edge of the bed and made eye contact with Deanna for the first time,

'Yes it is, but I didn't stop to make sure that it was what you really wanted.'

'At what point would you have done that? asked Deanna, sarcastically, 'When I was ripping your shirt off? Or when I pulled you on to the bed? Jean-Luc I do Mok'bara. If I didn't want to have sex with you, there are a lot of very painful things I could have done to you.'

'You're sure you didn't feel coerced in any way?'

'I'm sure. Are you sure I didn't take advantage of you?'

'What?'

Jean-Luc looked blankly at Deanna and then laughed as he realised that she was joking,

'I almost never find beautiful women taking advantage of me,' he responded dryly.

Deanna smiled,

'I understand why the Starfleet regulations exist but I'm not a timid ensign, overawed and impressionable. We're both mature adults. It's up to us what we do when we're on leave.'

Jean-Luc nodded but said hesitantly,

'But is this what you want? A relationship with me?'

'Honestly, I'm not ready for another relationship yet. However, I do have a suggestion, given how much fun last night was.'

'Go on.'

'How would you feel about a Friendly Fire agreement?'

'A Friendly Fire agreement? I haven't had one of those since I was a lieutenant.'

Jean-Luc smiled as the good sense of Deanna's suggestion struck him. A Friendly Fire agreement was an agreement between crewmates to have a sexual relationship only when on leave together. The rules were simple: the agreement was never mentioned on board ship, no one else was ever told about it and it was never allowed to interfere in your professional relationship. It was a way to relieve built up tensions without jeopardising careers or committing to a long-term relationship.

'It seemed to fit the circumstances.'

'Yes, it sounds ideal.'

Deanna smiled as she felt Jean-Luc's guilt fade to be replaced by anticipation. Reluctantly, she said,

'Except, I don't think I should be your counsellor for a while.'

Jean-Luc raised an eyebrow and waited for her to explain,

'I don't know if I'll be able to be objective enough.'

'So I'll have to see Lieutenant Matthews instead?' said Jean-Luc, grumpily.

'Yes, but Beverley and I were going to ask you to transfer to him for six months or so, anyway.'

'Oh?'

'He's got the Promotion Board coming up and he's a good officer and a talented counsellor but the only senior officer he's ever counselled is me. Without more experience he probably won't get promoted even though he deserves to be.'

'Why me?'

'Well, for one thing, you're the only member of the senior staff currently in mandatory counselling. I'm sure I could get one of the others to go along for a few sessions but unless they had something substantive they were willing to discuss it wouldn't help Lieutenant Matthews with the Promotion Board.'

'Do I still have substantive issues? I thought we'd covered them.'

'We have but the Promotion Board won't know that. They aren't allowed to see the transcripts of the sessions or any other details but they will know your history and your reputation for being a difficult patient.'

'So, we're lying to them?'

'No, we're letting them lie to themselves. Logically, they should know that I wouldn't let you transfer to someone as junior as Sam unless you were well.'

'All right,' agreed Jean-Luc, reluctantly, 'I'll transfer, as long as it is just for a few months.'

'Good. So, shall we agree, a Friendly Fire agreement now exists between us.'

As she spoke, Deanna held out a hand to Jean-Luc and they shook on it.

Freed from the spectre of sexual harassment and self-loathing, Jean-Luc realised that he was both hungry and thirsty,

'Breakfast?' he suggested.

'Good idea.'

Deanna got out of bed and walked casually over to the replicator, completely unselfconscious about her nakedness,

'What would you like?'

Jean-Luc looked blankly at her until she repeated the question, then replied,

'Anything as long as it's quick to eat.'

'In a hurry to be somewhere?' asked Deanna, with an amused smile.

Well aware that she could tell exactly where his mind was wandering, Jean-Luc walked up behind her and put his arms around her waist,

'No, I can just think of better things to do than eat.'

Deanna turned in his arms and they kissed gently. Jean-Luc considered pulling Deanna back to the bed but her stomach rumbled, loudly, so he let go of her and sat on the sofa.

After a quick breakfast, Jean-Luc looked speculatively at Deanna but she stood up, saying,

'I need a bath.'

'Need a hand?'

'Sounds like fun.'

Together they went into the small bathroom. Jean-Luc looked at the tiny tub in disgust,

'We'll never fit both of us in there.'

'No,' said Deanna, disappointed.

Jean-Luc thought briefly then said,

'Why don't you take a bath here. I'll head back to my room, shower and get some things and come straight back.'

'Okay.'

'If I take the door card then you can soak for as long as you like,' said Jean-Luc as a plan began to form in his mind.

Jean-Luc took the fastest shower he could, changed into clean clothes and headed down to the lobby. He picked up some chocolates in the small gift shop and then used the public terminal to download the information he needed on to a padd. In the lift, he quickly scanned the information, picking up the key points. Glad to have his suspicions confirmed, he cheerfully let himself in to Deanna's room. He put the chocolates on the table and then, listening for sounds from the bathroom, stripped.

Jean-Luc went into the bathroom, making no attempt to be quiet; there was no point trying to sneak up on an empath. Deanna smiled a welcome but raised an eyebrow at his nudity. Smiling innocently, he said,

'I thought I'd help you wash.'

Jean-Luc knelt on the mat beside the tub and reached for the liquid soap. He squirted some on his hands and slowly rubbed his hands together. When he was happy with the lather, he gently put his hands on her shoulders and rubbed soap along her shoulders and up her neck, circling languidly. Next he washed her back, taking his time, moving slowly downwards until he reached the top of her buttocks. He let his hands cup her buttocks for a brief second before coming back to her shoulders again. Deanna kissed the side of his neck and he kissed her lips gently as he got more soap. With a mischievous smile, Jean-Luc moved further away from her and reached for her left foot, cleaning it thoroughly before moving slowly upwards. He massaged her calf muscles briefly before getting more soap to do her knee. As he passed her knee, he started to scratch lightly, moving microscopically higher each time. As he reached the middle of her thigh, she eagerly parted her legs to allow him access but he stopped after another couple of inches and put her foot back in the water. He repeated the same tortuous process with her right leg but this time Deanna pulled him to her for a passionate kiss before he could move away again. They kissed for a couple of minutes, then Jean-Luc broke away, saying,

'I think your front needs doing.'

Deanna shivered, as an inch at a time, Jean-Luc slowly brought his soapy hands down towards her breasts. The anticipation was both frustrating and exciting. Frustrating, because he had opened his emotions to her as soon as he'd come into the bathroom and the loop of desire between them was driving her higher and higher and she _needed_ him to touch her. And exciting because he knew what he was doing. He was deliberately using the contact between their minds to drive her wild.

His hands made contact with her breasts and Deanna lost the ability for coherent thought as he scratched across her nipples and along the sides. Urgently, she grabbed his hand and thrust it between her legs. He resisted until she panted out,

'Now…Jean-Luc …I…I… have to…'

He pushed hard against her centre and she climaxed immediately. He waited until she stopped screaming, then took his hand away and went back to soaping and scratching her breasts. She had a moment to wonder how he knew what she wanted before her body took over again. She managed to stay in the bath for another couple of minutes, knowing he wanted to draw things out, but the need for more contact overwhelmed her. Hungrily, she knelt in front of him, pressing her body against his. They kissed and he put a hand in her hair and pulled to force her chin up. As he kissed her under her chin he gently tugged her hair, sending shudders through her body. She ran her hands down his body and found him to be nearly as aroused as she was. She went to lie back on the mat but Jean-Luc turned her round and pushed gently on her back until she was on hands and knees. Parting her legs, she looked over her shoulder eagerly. Jean-Luc put his hands on her hips and entered her, thrusting firmly. Deanna gasped as he hit her Zibeda rings at exactly the right angle. For a moment she wondered if he had had sex with her mother after all; human men never understood the internal differences between human and Betazoid women without being told. As he started to move he put his left hand in her hair and reached his right hand underneath her body, to pinch and rub. His left hand was tugging her hair and the combination of internal and external stimuli was too much; Deanna climaxed again and again, writhing against his hand and moving her head from side to side to maximise the tugging sensation.

When Jean-Luc finally climaxed, Deanna collapsed on the bathroom mat, unable to move and barely able to think.

After a few minutes, Jean-Luc helped her to the bed and they curled up together,

'I'd forgotten how hard on the knees bathroom floors are,' said Jean-Luc, rubbing his knees ruefully.

Deanna smiled,

'But lots of fun.'

'Yes.'

'How did you know what to do?'

Jean-Luc smiled and gestured to the padd on the table,

'Last night I realised that even though you're half human, your Betazoid heritage dominates your sexual responses so I did some research. I didn't have time to read all of it but I did manage to get a few pointers.'

Deanna looked at him in amazement,

'When did you have time to do that?'

'After I'd showered, I went down to the lobby and used their terminal to download information on Betazoid women's sexuality. I read a bit of it in the lift, on the way back up. Oh, and I bought you some chocolates.'

Deanna smiled happily, thinking, orgasms and chocolate, what more could any woman want?

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	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: Star Trek is the property of Paramount. I own nothing.

Chapter Five

Two weeks later.

Beverley Crusher waited in the transporter room for Jean-Luc to beam up. In theory, there was no reason for her to be here to meet him but he'd been near exhaustion when he'd gone on leave and she wanted to make sure that he really had rested, as she'd ordered him to. If he didn't look significantly improved, she was determined to send him straight back down to the planet, despite how furious this would make him. Jean-Luc was one of her closest friends but his casual attitude to his health infuriated her.

The transporter operator said,

'Initiating transport.'

Jean-Luc appeared on the pad, dressed in civilian clothing and carrying a small backpack. Smiling, he stepped down from the transporter platform,

'Beverley, good to see you.'

They hugged and Beverley took the opportunity to gauge his body fat percentages. His clavicles were slightly less prominent and his face looked less gaunt. In fact, he looked rested and relaxed.

'Good to have you back,' she replied, 'How was your leave?'

'Very pleasant, thank you.'

'I suppose you spent it going from one archaeological site to another?'

'Actually, I spent most of my time in the capital. The Ydeans have some amazing museums, you know. Their Museum of Evolution is fascinating; instead of just looking at plant and animal evolution on Ydea, they've included the evolution of the cosmos as a whole. Did you know the Ydeans believe that the Universe is alive? That we are just part of its internal processes?'

'Really? That sounds fascinating. You must tell me more about it later. First, however, I want you to come to Sickbay.'

'Why? Has someone been injured?'

'No, I want to check that you're fully recovered from our last mission.'

'Beverley, don't fuss. I'm fine.'

'Good. Then you won't mind coming to Sickbay.'

'Sorry, Doctor. I've got other things to do.'

'Such as? You're still officially on leave for another five hours.'

'And I intend to spend them in my quarters not on a bed in Sickbay being poked and prodded.'

Reluctantly, Beverley accepted defeat; she would have been amazed if Jean-Luc had agreed to come to Sickbay voluntarily anyway.

'All right, Jean-Luc. But promise me you will come to Sickbay if you don't feel well.'

'I promise to come to Sickbay if I think it's necessary.'

Beverley glared at Jean-Luc, knowing that his idea of necessary roughly translated as 'when I've got an arm hanging off by a thread'. Jean-Luc returned her gaze evenly and she knew that she'd pushed him as much as she could.

'I'd better get back to Sickbay; I'm still on duty.'

'Playing hooky, Doctor?' said Jean-Luc, teasingly.

'No, trying to get obstinate starship captains to look after their health is a normal part of the Chief Medical Officer's duties,' retorted Beverley, acerbically.

'Let me guess; there's a course on it at Starfleet Medical.'

'Yes, it's called 'Banging your head against a brick wall 101.''

Jean-Luc laughed,

'Is that why Chief Medical Officers are all so hard-headed?'

'Got it in one, Jean-Luc.'

They made their way towards the turbolift and got in,

'Sickbay.'

'Deck eight.'

Once the turbolift was under way, Beverley took the opportunity to carry out a visual assessment of Jean-Luc. The lines of strain had gone from around his mouth and the bags under his eyes were gone too. His posture was relaxed and he had definitely put some weight back on. Satisfied, she said,

'I was surprised when you decided to come back so early. Did the hotel need your room?'

'No, I decided to be kind to Will. He's got forty-eight hours leave starting at seventeen hundred and you know what Will's like; he would never go on leave without briefing me first. So, I'm going to head to the Bridge at fifteen hundred hours so that he can brief me and still get the full forty-eight hours off.'

Jean-Luc didn't tell Beverley his other reason for coming back early; Deanna was due back at seventeen hundred hours and they'd decided that it would not be a good idea to arrive back together. They both needed to compartmentalise what had happened and they'd agreed it would be easier if they were in uniform the first time they saw each other back on board ship.

'Hmmm. So it doesn't have anything to do with you being a complete workaholic then?'

'Certainly not. It's complete altruism on my part.'

Beverley smiled and was about to make a cynical remark about how believable that wasn't, when the turbolift stopped at Sickbay. As she got out Jean-Luc said,

'Dinner tonight?'

'Sorry, Jean-Luc. I promised to have dinner with Deanna. How about tomorrow night?'

'All right. See you at breakfast?'

'Of course.'

Beverley went into Sickbay and was immediately immersed in medical problems and injuries. Jean-Luc went to his quarters, showered, put on his uniform and went to the Bridge. As he entered the turbolift, he found himself wondering if Deanna was enjoying her visit to the Ydean chocolate museum. She'd been very happy to discover that there were samples to try all the way round. The turbolift stopped and Jean-Luc immediately shifted into professional mode, the need to get up to date over-riding everything else,

'Status, Number One?'

It was several hours later that Beverley found herself back in the transporter room, waiting for Deanna to beam up. She was hoping that Deanna was fully recovered, both as Chief Medical Officer and as a friend. As Chief Medical Officer, she wanted her most effective counsellor back on duty. As a friend, she'd been really worried when she'd realised how stressed and overworked Deanna had let herself become.  
The transporter operator initiated transport and Deanna materialised on the platform. Beverley smiled as she saw the transformation that the time off had wrought; Deanna was relaxed and serene. The clothes she was wearing accentuated her best features and her hair and make-up were pristine. It was a far cry from the woman Beverley had ordered off ship three weeks ago. Then, Deanna had looked far from her usual self; she'd become so exhausted that she hadn't been doing anything other than washing and putting clean clothes on. Thank goodness Selar had noticed. Beverley had been so busy in Sickbay that she hadn't realised what was going on until Selar had pointed out that Deanna's working hours exceeded the recommended maximums for humans and Betazoids.  
Deanna returned her smile and stepped down from the transporter,

'Beverley.'

They hugged briefly and Beverley said,

'How are you, Deanna?'

'Better, thank you.'

Deanna sounded calm and in control but Beverley was determined to be sure that Deanna was fully better before she returned to duty.

'Good,' she said, briskly, 'If we go to Sickbay now, we can get your check-up out of the way this evening.'

Deanna grimaced but didn't protest. After compulsory sick leave it was standard practice to carry out a medical examination. Only in exceptional circumstances could it be omitted. Staying outwardly calm, she followed Beverley to Sickbay, glad she'd thought up a cover story already. In the turbolift they chatted about the facilities on Ydea and Beverley told Deanna the latest ship's gossip.  
Once they reached Sickbay, Deanna lay on a diagnostic bed without complaining. Her physical and mental well being were Beverley's responsibility and Beverley took her responsibilities very seriously.  
Deanna's readings were all significantly better than they had been three weeks ago and well within normal ranges for half-Betazoids. More importantly, they were normal for her. Deanna's brain chemistry was back to normal too; she'd been so exhausted three weeks ago that she hadn't been able to keep her shields up which had led to her neuro-transmitters becoming unbalanced. Scanning down her body, Beverley discovered that Deanna had been sexually active whilst on leave. The millions of human sperm of varying ages present made it clear that Deanna had had a partner on several occasions over the last few days. Beverley raised an eyebrow, saying,

'What was his name?'

Deanna opened her eyes wide and tried to look innocent,

'Whose name?'

'Your sperm donor.'

Deanna pretended to think, scrunching her nose up and looking puzzled,

'I can't remember. John? Or was it Mark? Maybe Susan? Or was it all three?'

Beverley tried to hold back a laugh,

'You are terrible! You were supposed to be resting and relaxing.'

'But you told me to unwind and take gentle exercise.'

Beverley and Alyssa Ogawa both laughed at Deanna's unique interpretation of the medical advice that she had been given.

'Unwind! I suppose you've left some heartbroken man pining after you again.'

'No, he understood that it was just a fling. He was on vacation too.'

'Right,' said Beverley, sceptically.

'It was just casual sex. He definitely wasn't interested in a commitment.'

Beverley exchanged an ironic look with Selar who was quietly double-checking Deanna's readings. After a nod from Selar, she said,

'Deanna, physically you're fine. How do you feel emotionally?'

'All right but I realised whilst I was on leave that I didn't behave very rationally last month.'

Beverley nodded and Deanna continued,

'I'll ask Sam to fit me in for some counselling sessions.'

Beverley relaxed; she hated forcing people to have counselling. It also looked much better on people's files if they had voluntary rather than compulsory counselling for minor matters. Particularly if you were the lead counsellor on the Federation's flag ship.

Beverley agreed to meet Deanna for dinner in Ten-Forward at nineteen hundred and Deanna left. Once she was out of earshot, Alyssa said,

'How long before the communications and gifts start, d'you think? A week?'

'Last time it was less than a day. Eight hours, maybe?' said Beverley.

'She seemed certain that he understood that it was only a fling,' said Selar, thoughtfully, 'I estimate that he will attempt to make contact within four days.'

'Closest gets bought dinner at the next starbase?' suggested Beverley.

'Agreed,' said Selar and Alyssa together.

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	6. Chapter 6

Disclaimer: Star Trek is the property of Paramount. I own nothing.

Chapter Six

Beverley looked at Deanna's tray in surprise; Deanna had chosen vegetable soup and a salad for dinner. Noticing Beverley's surprise, Deanna explained,

'I went to the Ydea Museum of Chocolate this afternoon. There are samples of chocolate for you to try at each exhibit.'

'How many exhibits are there?'

'One hundred and fifty-seven.'

'You ate one hundred and fifty-seven pieces of chocolate?'

'No, I gave up about a third of the way round. According to the guide, most Ydeans manage about ninety pieces so I was below average by their standards.'

'Does anyone make it all the way round?'

'Yes, a surprisingly large number, about one percent of all visitors. Apparently Ydeans often fast for a couple of days before going, to increase their chances of making it round. The Ydean version of chocolate was originally developed as a way to survive famines. The chocolate was made with a very high sugar content so it could be stored for a long time and those who could afford it stock-piled it so their families would survive when famine struck. So, chocolate has a different significance on Ydea than on most worlds. Ydeans fast out of respect for all the people who died before they managed to produce enough food to feed themselves.'

'I remember reading somewhere that it's only recently that famine stopped being a normal part of Ydean life.'

'Only about a hundred years ago. There are still a few Ydeans alive who remember it and one of their reasons for joining the Federation was to gain access to Federation agricultural specialists. They're incredibly proud of the fact that they now export food.'

'That's right. I think it was T'bea who did a study of their culture and she found food to be of paramount importance to them. Their religions all revolve around food and the moral issues surrounding decisions on whether to share or not. Which, when famine is killing sixty percent of your population once every other generation, is not a trivial decision.'

'They certainly love to eat and in company, if possible. Jean-Luc and I ate at a restaurant run by a childhood friend of his and it was very crowded and Gabriel says it's like it all the time.'

Deanna had spoken without thinking and swore inwardly; she and Jean-Luc had agreed that there was no point trying to hide their dinners but they'd also agreed not to bring them to anyone's attention. Luckily, Beverley was distracted by the mention of Gabriel,

'Did you pick up any good gossip about Jean-Luc's childhood?'

'No, they spent the time talking about wine.'

'Shame.'

'Yes, I'd hoped to pick up something useful. There are still some things he won't talk to me about in counselling, even after all these years.'

'I was hoping you'd picked up something we could use to blackmail him.'

'Blackmail information? Why?'

'Because then maybe I could get him to take leave on a regular basis without having a pitched battle about it.'

'It would take more than a couple of embarrassing anecdotes to achieve that.'

'True. Thinking of the Captain, are you still happy to ask him to transfer to Sam?'

'As long as you are.'

'I've got no major concerns. How did he seem when you had dinner with him?'

Deanna desperately suppressed the urge to say, 'horny' or 'sexy' knowing that there was no way Beverley wouldn't leap on either of those two comments. After a brief pause, she said,

'He seemed fine. Less stressed than he has been for a long time.'

'Okay. We might as well ask him tomorrow then.'

Beverley was about to ask Deanna for more details about her leave but Deanna forestalled her, saying,

'How are you coping? Are you going to be able to take any leave?'

'Not this time. We still have twenty injured, six in Sickbay and the rest in quarters. Selar and I are still working flat out but it's slowly easing off.'

'I thought the most seriously injured were being beamed down to Ydea?'

'They were but we haven't been able to take on any temporary replacements so we've kept on everyone we can cope with to avoid being short staffed. As it is we're thirty-four crewmembers short. At least this way, the twenty injured who are on board will slowly start coming back on duty. Will's been tearing his hair out trying to do the duty rosters.'

Beverley watched Deanna closely as she mentioned Will's name and was delighted that Deanna didn't react. She didn't know what had happened when Deanna's relationship with Worf broke up but ever since Deanna had been miserable. And ever since, Will had been avoiding Deanna and Deanna had flinched every time Will's name was mentioned.

Deanna smiled sympathetically,

'Poor Will. Juggling duty rosters is difficult enough at the best of times.'

'At least having you and Jean-Luc back helps.'

Deanna turned the topic back to the latest ship's gossip and the rest of the evening was spent discussing Selar's new admirer, a thirty year-old Tellarite who was determined to persuade her to go out with him, despite the Vulcan woman's complete lack of interest.

Deanna left Beverley fairly early, knowing that she would need to meditate before sleeping. In fact, once she'd put an extra cover on the bed, to make up for the absence of a warm body next to her, Deanna slept well.

Jean-Luc was not surprised to have trouble getting off. Absorbing all the information that Will had given him had left his mind buzzing with facts and figures. It was at times like this that he missed having a partner, someone to talk to as well as someone to hold. He forced himself to look on the bright side; Friendly Fire agreements stayed in existence until one of the people involved cancelled it. So all he had to do was make sure Deanna got leave at the same time as he did. Since he was captain, this shouldn't be difficult. On this conclusion, Jean-Luc fell asleep.

The next morning, Beverley arrived for breakfast promptly and they sat down with croissants and coffee as usual.

'Tell me some more about your leave, Jean-Luc. I hope you didn't spend all your time in museums.'

'Not all of it. I spent quite a lot of my time in my room, catching up on my reading,' said Jean-Luc, controlling a smile as he remembered the three texts on Betazoid cultural and sexual practices that he'd read.

'I'm surprised you bumped into Deanna then.'

Jean-Luc took a bite of his croissant to give himself time to think. What had Beverley managed to find out from Deanna? He reminded himself that he and Deanna had decided to tell the truth about all their public activities,

'She rescued me.'

'Rescued you? What from?'

'From an importunate archaeologist who was determined to go out for dinner with me. Deanna turned up just as I was explaining that I already had plans.'

'And played the part of your dinner date?'

'Yes, thank goodness. Otherwise, I would never have got rid of Avayla. For some reason she thought a shared interest in ancient Ydean property guaranteed a sexual interest in her.'

Beverley smiled; Jean-Luc never found predatory females attractive.

'I bet she was pleased to meet Deanna.'

Jean-Luc smiled broadly, remembering how lovely Deanna had looked that day,

'I think a Klingon targ would have been more welcome. I, however, was delighted to see her.'

'I bet you were. So, was that the night you took her out to dinner?'

'One of them, yes. We went to Gabriel's restaurant. I'm not surprised he's busy every night; the food was superb and the wines weren't bad either.'

'So you saw Deanna more than once?'

'Yes, why?' said Jean-Luc warily.

'I just wondered if you'd met the man she was with.'

Jean-Luc thought quickly, glad his Starfleet training had taught him to stay calm under pressure,

'I didn't notice anyone in particular but there were always men hovering about.'

'And she didn't say anything to you?'

'Why would she?' said Jean-Luc, desperately hoping that Beverley would change the subject before he was forced to tell her any more lies.

'True. I suppose it would have been a bit odd.'

'Quite,' said Jean-Luc repressively.

An adroit question turned the conversation to the injured and sick and Jean-Luc relaxed. The rest of their breakfast passed quickly and then they went their separate ways, Jean-Luc congratulating himself on getting through the interrogation and Beverley wondering why discussing Deanna made Jean-Luc so uptight.

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	7. Chapter 7

Disclaimer: Star Trek is the property of Paramount. I own nothing.

Chapter Seven

With the Enterprise orbiting Ydea, there was no need to hold a full staff meeting, so Jean-Luc spent the first part of his duty shift in his Ready Room going through the paperwork that had inevitably accumulated whilst he was on leave. Will had dealt with everything he could but some things could only be dealt with by the captain and there were many items that he needed to read through to get himself back up to date. One of the items on his list was Beverley's Sickbay Reports. As usual, she and her staff had done wonders and all of the injured were expected to make full recoveries. Beverley had also included her assessment of Deanna's condition before she had been sent on sick leave and it didn't make pretty reading. Starfleet had long ago recognised that its starships were full of ambitious over-achievers and had strict regulations designed to prevent over-working. Fortunately, the regulations didn't apply to emergencies and it had certainly been both a medical and diplomatic emergency. Jean-Luc was glad that Beverley had made it clear in her report that Deanna had over-worked during an emergency so the regulations did not apply, otherwise, he would have had to give Deanna an official reprimand. The consequences of an official reprimand for an officer of her seniority would be a completely stalled career – no further promotions, ever. No doubt that was why Beverley had spelt it out so clearly.

After two hours, Jean-Luc was heartily sick of paperwork and decided to go on an inspection tour of the repairs. As he was crossing the Bridge, the turbolift opened and Beverley and Deanna came out. Beverley smiled at him and said,

'Captain, could we have a word with you, please?'

'Of course, Doctor.'

He led them back into his Ready Room and sat behind his desk, gesturing for them to seat themselves.

'What can I do for you?'

Beverley and Deanna exchanged glances and after a moment, Beverley said,

'We wanted to talk to you about Lieutenant Matthews.'

'Lieutenant Matthews? Is there a problem?'

'No. Quite the reverse,' said Deanna, 'He's a very talented counsellor.'

'So?' said Jean-Luc, injecting impatience into his voice.

'He's got the Promotion Board in six months time and he deserves to be promoted.'

'Well, wish him good luck from me.'

'Unfortunately, he needs more than your good wishes,' said Deanna, suppressing her amusement at Jean-Luc's fake impatience, 'He lacks sufficient experience to get promoted.'

'Sufficient experience of counselling senior officers, that is,' explained Beverley.

'So why don't you two go to him for the next six months?'

'I already go to Sam for counselling and Beverley is not undergoing counselling at the moment.'

'So, you want me to switch to him?' said Jean-Luc, trying to sound grumpy.

'Just for a few months,' said Beverley.

'Couldn't you get someone else?'

'You're the only member of the senior staff in mandatory counselling at present,' said Deanna.

'And you know as well as I do that the Promotion Board will be much more impressed by your name on his form than by mine or Will's.'

Jean-Luc glared at Beverley and Deanna before saying,

'I'll agree but only on the understanding that I can switch back to Deanna if I find Lieutenant Matthews impossible to work with.'

'Thank you, Jean-Luc,' said Beverley, smiling.

Beverley and Deanna got up to leave and Jean-Luc forced himself to use his most official Captain's voice,

'Counsellor, a moment please.'

'Yes, Sir,' said Deanna, standing to attention.

'I was most displeased when I read Doctor Crusher's report regarding your recent illness. Starfleet expects officers to take due care of their health.'

'Yes, Sir.'

Beverley bristled and Jean-Luc continued quickly, smiling at Deanna,

'Deanna, please take better care of yourself.'

Deanna relaxed,

'I will.'

Jean-Luc relaxed, pleased to have got that out of the way.

In the turbolift, Beverley smiled at Deanna saying,

'Well, that was easier than I expected.'

Deanna smiled wryly,

'Yes, wasn't it?'

Deanna looked at her bed longingly. She was tired after her first full day back at work but she knew that there was no possibility of her going straight to sleep. Her Betazoid heritage had many advantages: empathic abilities, increased resilience and enhanced sensuality. However, there were disadvantages and chief amongst them was a high sex drive that just kept increasing with time. When Betazoid women went through the Phase their sex drive multiplied by up to a factor of ten. Being half-Betazoid, it was not clear whether or not she would go through the Phase but in the meantime, her sex drive was higher than ever. Her body was making it completely clear that she was not going to get to sleep until she'd had at least two orgasms.  
She undressed and took two of her favourite sex toys out of her bedside cabinet. She lay down on the bed, turned her toys on and started running them over her body. As her arousal started to rise, Deanna cast her mind back to one of the evenings she and Jean-Luc had spent together…

They had gone out for a meal together and throughout the meal she had been aware that Jean-Luc was planning something. He'd been very appreciative of her sleeveless dress, multi-coloured with a dark blue sash, but it was not until they got back to her room that she realised why.  
As soon as she'd closed the door, Jean-Luc reached for her, kissing her deeply and relaxing his mental control, allowing her to read his emotions clearly. Whilst they kissed, he untied her sash, distracting her by moving her closer to the bed. Still kissing her, he manoeuvred them on to the bed and gently pushed her towards the middle. Then, in one casual movement, Jean-Luc pulled her hands together above her head and tied them together with the sash. He then tied the long ends of the sash to the headboard so that he could turn her over. He looked into her eyes, saying,

'Okay?'

She'd reached up and kissed him, smiling and nodding to let him know that she was willing to play. In fact, she'd been very curious about what he had planned.  
Reassured, Jean-Luc had smiled mischievously and flipped her on to her front. He unsealed her dress and pulled it slowly down her body, past her feet and on to the floor. Next he unclipped her strapless bra and turned her over so that he could take it off, grazing his knuckles over her nipples as he did so. Finally, he slid her panties slowly down her legs and tossed them on to the sofa. He stripped but flipped Deanna on to her front before she had a chance to admire his body for more than a moment.

Then Jean-Luc subjected Deanna to the most exquisite foreplay she'd ever experienced. He started by running his hands slowly over her body, stroking and rubbing everywhere, never staying in one place for more than a few seconds. Within a minute, she was covered in goosebumps. Jean-Luc took his time, finding out which spots made her shiver and push towards his hands. Then he switched from stroking to scratching, going slowly from one erogenous zone to another, lingering at her most sensitive spots. The feedback loop between them fed Deanna's arousal and by the time he was scratching beneath her chin, she was incredibly aroused. The extra stimulation made her groan and the bolt of pleasure that surged through Jean-Luc's brain at the sound rocketed through the feedback loop, sending Deanna over the edge. When she came down from her high, Jean-Luc continued where he had left off, this time using more pressure. She climaxed again and Jean-Luc started using his mouth, licking and nibbling until she was incoherent with pleasure. Her moans and groans increased his pleasure and the feedback loop sent them both spiralling upwards. She climaxed several times from the combined physical and mental pleasure, climbing higher and higher each time. After over an hour, Jean-Luc finally gave in to his body's demands and untying her hands, put a pillow under her hips and joined their bodies, thrusting frantically. Her final climax was one of the most intense she'd ever had.

Deanna relaxed as assisted by her memories, she climaxed. Switching to another memory from her shore leave, thoughts of Jean-Luc filled her mind as her arousal built again.

A deck away, Jean-Luc was reading before going to bed when he felt a surge of arousal going through his body. Resignedly, he put his book down and headed towards the bed; he'd always had a high libido and making love to Deanna daily for two weeks had reawakened the animal inside him. He undressed and lay on the bed, reaching down and letting his hand begin to move. Thinking of Deanna, sent another surge of arousal through his body and within a short time he climaxed.

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	8. Chapter 8

Disclaimer: Star Trek is the property of Paramount. I own nothing.

Chapter Eight

Jean-Luc Picard gazed impatiently at the viewscreen, waiting for Admiral Evans to come to the point. They'd exchanged pleasantries, discussed the Cardassian situation and even talked about where the best Italian restaurant in the sector was but so far, the admiral had completely failed to tell Jean-Luc what their next assignment was. There were people who found Admiral Nechayev blunt to the point of rudeness but after years of putting up with long-winded admirals, Jean-Luc much preferred her bluntness and found himself wishing that she were in charge of this sector. Finally, Admiral Evans brought the conversation round to the Enterprise,

'I understand you're short-staffed after your losses at Defayah, Captain.'

'Yes, Sir.'

Jean-Luc resisted the temptation to explain to the admiral how many people had been killed and injured, knowing that the admiral had the figures in front of him.

'I've had my aide see what she could find by way of temporary replacements for you. Only managed to find fifteen for you and four of those are new graduates from the Academy, I'm afraid.'

'Thank you, Admiral,' said Jean-Luc, with genuine gratitude. Beverley had passed two of the injured crew as fit for light duty, starting tomorrow, but they were in urgent need of more people.

'I'll hand you over to her, for you to review her choices. I'm transmitting your new orders now.'

There was a buzz as Jean-Luc's computer announced that file had been received.

'Orders received, Sir.'

'Good sailing, Captain.'

'Thank you, Admiral.'

A Sulamid, whose tentacles wore lieutenants' stripes, replaced Admiral Evans,

'Captain Picard, here are the files on possible replacement crew members for you. Please let me know which of them you find acceptable.'

There was another buzz from his computer and Jean-Luc said,

'I'll get back to you as soon as possible.'

Having quickly read through their new orders and confirmed that they were not required to leave Ydea orbit earlier than planned, Jean-Luc downloaded the personnel files on to a padd, got himself a cup of Earl Grey tea from the replicator and started to read.

Two hours later, he had read through all the service files and decided to accept all fifteen. He had reservations about two of them but he was confident that Will could handle them both. One of them might not be a problem anyway; Ensign Richard Montez had joined Starfleet after the Borg attack at Wolf 359 at the age of twenty-eight and had apparently had trouble making the transition from civilian life. However, that comment had been made by Captain Jellico, who was a complete martinet, and had not been echoed by Montez's latest commanding officer. The second potential problem was Lieutenant John Meadows who had been demoted to ensign twice, each time for disobeying orders, but had climbed his way back to lieutenant each time. He was intelligent and committed to Starfleet but tended to mistrust other people's judgement. Well, he'd learn better on the Enterprise or Jean-Luc would want to know why.

Jean-Luc contacted Admiral Evans' aide and confirmed his acceptance of the new crewmembers. She arranged for the replacements to be sent out on a runabout, to rendezvous with the Enterprise in six days time. Jean-Luc immediately sent their details to Beverley, so that she could schedule their medicals around the needs of the injured. He then left a message for Will, asking him to report to him as soon as he returned from leave. In all probability, Will would have come to see him straight away anyway but Jean-Luc wanted to make sure he saw the new personnel files before the briefing for senior staff in the morning.

Thinking of the senior staff made him think of Deanna and he was tempted to contact her to see how she was doing but reminded himself that he should keep things as professional as possible. Instead, he contacted Beverley,

'Picard to Crusher.'

'Crusher here, Captain.'

'Would now be a convenient moment for me to come down to Sickbay, Doctor?'

'Certainly, Captain.'

Jean-Luc nodded to Data, who was on Bridge duty, and went to Sickbay.

Once there, he talked to all of the injured crewmembers before going into Beverley's office with her and saying,

'How are the Sickbay staff coping?'

'Pretty well. Everyone's very tired but we're slowly getting back to normal.'

'Good. I've put all your staff forward for commendations.'

'Thank you, Jean-Luc.'

'They deserve it. Is there anything else I can do?'

'Find me a dozen more Selar's?'

Jean-Luc smiled,

'I'll ask but unless Starfleet's got a secret cloning facility, I think you're out of luck.'

Beverley returned his smile but it was a very weary smile and Jean-Luc realised that she looked very tired,

'How about you, Beverley? Are you getting enough sleep?'

'No, but until Starfleet provide us with a replacement for Andrew Peterson there's nothing anyone can do about it.'

Doctor Andrew Peterson had been one of the fatalities at Defayah, killed whilst treating casualties. Since the Enterprise only had a complement of three doctors, his loss had left the medical department ridiculously short-staffed. Fortunately, Starfleet had managed to find them another doctor. Delighted to give Beverley some good news for a change, Jean-Luc said,

'Admiral Evans has turned up trumps. His aide has found us fifteen new crewmembers including a newly qualified doctor.'

Beverley smiled and Jean-Luc could see the tension leaving her body,

'Thank goodness. Selar's been pushing the limits of even a Vulcan's ability to go without sleep and I feel like a limp rag.'

Jean-Luc smiled at the imagery,

'You look wonderful, as always.'

Beverley smiled wryly,

'Well, in a few weeks I might feel wonderful too. When does the new doctor arrive?'

'Six days. I sent you his file along with the other new crewmembers so that you can schedule their medicals to suit you.'

'Thank you, Jean-Luc,' said Beverley, warmly.

Jean-Luc smiled back at Beverley and then said, awkwardly,

'How's Deanna?'

'She seems fine. She's back on duty, as you know, and counselling again, much to Lieutenant Barclay's relief.'

'Oh?'

'Reg doesn't like being counselled by anyone but Deanna.'

'Problem?' asked Jean-Luc, remembering the incident of the holoprogram that Reg had written with both Deanna and Beverley in it.

'No, Reg is too nervous of women to be a problem. And too nice.'

Jean-Luc nodded, relieved. He knew that a lot of the crew, both male and female found Deanna and/or Beverley attractive but he hoped that they both realised that he would never tolerate any harassment on his ship.

'You do know that I would always back you or Deanna up if you had a problem, don't you?'

Beverley looked at him in amazement,

'Yes, Jean-Luc. I know.'

'Good.'

'Was there a reason you felt you needed to say that now, Jean-Luc? Did something happen to Deanna whilst you were on Ydea?'

'No although I did have to glare at some men who were pestering Deanna by the pool one day. It wasn't anything serious but it made me realise how much nonsense you and she have to put up with.'

What Jean-Luc didn't say was that he wasn't surprised that the young men had been determined to impress Deanna that day. They had decided to go for a swim so he'd gone back to his room to get changed and by the time he'd reached the pool Deanna was already in the water. He'd had a brisk swim and then got out and sat on a deck chair with his book. When Deanna had got out of the water and he'd seen what she was wearing, he'd nearly swallowed his tongue. In theory, her costume was quite demure: it was a one-piece showing only the tiniest amount of cleavage. However, it was made of a material that shifted from colour to colour and different sections would go completely transparent in an apparently random pattern. The effect was hypnotic and very sexy. Men of all ages had started approaching Deanna within a couple of minutes and some of them had been unwilling to accept her gentle refusals, at which point, Jean-Luc would put down his book and glare at them. After an hour of constant interruptions, they had given up and gone back to Deanna's room, where he'd been only too happy to help her shower.

'Yes, but it very rarely happens on board the Enterprise and it's never been a problem.'

'Good.'

Jean-Luc left and Beverley went back to work, wondering what had made Jean-Luc so protective all of a sudden.

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	9. Chapter 9

Disclaimer: Star Trek is the property of Paramount. I own nothing.

Chapter Nine

The following morning, when Jean-Luc got into the turbolift Beverley and Deanna were already inside. Jean-Luc donned his Captain's mask and stepped aboard,

'Doctor, Counsellor.'

'Good morning, Captain,' said Deanna.

Jean-Luc moved further into the turbolift and as he did so, he caught a whiff of Deanna's perfume. The arousal that surged through his body took him by surprise and he stared at the turbolift wall and desperately started running through Starfleet regulations in his mind to try to regain control.  
Deanna was lightly shielding but in the close quarters of the turbolift Jean-Luc's emotions cut through her shields easily and she shifted uncomfortably, unconsciously moving away from him, as she tried to block him out.  
They were both so busy trying to control their emotions that neither of them noticed Beverley's perplexed expression as she watched them trying to avoid each other.

The staff briefing went well at first. Geordi reported that all of the repairs had been completed and tested to his satisfaction, so the Enterprise was ready to leave orbit whenever required. Everyone was pleased that some new crewmembers were on the way and Will arranged to liase with the department heads so that the new crew could be integrated into the Enterprise's roster as quickly and smoothly as possible. Getting the new doctor up to speed as quickly as possible was particularly important so it was agreed that Worf and Data would guide him through the orientation and emergency drills, starting as soon as he boarded. Beverley reported that another four crewmembers would be available for light duties by the end of the week bringing staffing up to more acceptable levels.  
Jean-Luc then explained that their new mission would be to tour all of the recently colonised planets in this sector checking that everything was going according to plan and providing transport where essential. Some of the planets hadn't been visited by a Starfleet vessel for over two years, so it was not a meaningless task, rather an essential one. Jean-Luc gave Data the task of choosing a logical route for the mission and ended the meeting.  
As everyone was filing out, Will said,

'Thanks for recommending the Ydea Paradise, Beverley. Really good hotel and they seem to like Starfleet officers.'

'Yes, I had a really good time when I stayed there.'

'And the pool staff were really impressed with the Captain,' said Will with an amused smile.

'Really? What did you do, Captain?' asked Beverley.

'I really have no idea,' said Jean-Luc, repressively, rising and starting towards the door.

'Apparently, he got rid of all the undesirables who usually congregate around the pool and pester the guests,' said Will, his smile broadening.

'Really? How did he do that?'

'That's why the staff were so impressed; he just glared at them and off they went.'

Beverley laughed while Jean-Luc glowered at Will, hoping that he would stop there. Unfortunately, Will hadn't finished,

'They were very impressed by the woman he was with too. Astonishingly beautiful was how they described her to me.'

'Thank you, Will,' said Deanna calmly.

'What?'

'It's nice to know that my efforts to look attractive didn't go unnoticed.'

'Wait, it was you with the Captain by the pool?'

'Yes and when some Ydean men found the word 'no' hard to understand the Captain backed me up.'

'And glared?' asked Beverley, teasingly.

'And glared,' agreed Deanna.

'The gallant captain to the rescue!' said Will with a wicked smile.

'I merely did what I would have done for anyone who found themselves in that situation,' said Jean-Luc stiffly.

'Well, it was very effective,' said Will, 'Apparently those particular pests haven't returned to the Ydea Paradise Hotel since.'

'Good,' said Jean-Luc, turning towards the door again.

'Perhaps you should advertise, Jean-Luc,' said Beverley, 'Pest removal a speciality.'

'Glare included free of charge,' suggested Will, grinning.

Data, who had been listening with his head cocked on one side, looking puzzled, said,

'Nuisances neutralised?'

'Good one, Data,' said Geordi, as chuckles emanated from everyone present, including the Captain.

Jean-Luc decided to regain the initiative,

'I'll take it under advisement but in the meantime…'

The senior staff finally filed out and Jean-Luc heaved a sigh of relief.

Beverley Crusher was not a particularly nosy person but she was observant, intuitive and incredibly intelligent. Her natural abilities had been honed by her medical training and serving in Starfleet had given her a wide experience of people of all ages and species. Because of this, Beverley was usually very good at reading people. However, the behaviour of her two closest friends was baffling her. Jean-Luc and Deanna were both complex individuals but she'd known them both for a long time and usually had no trouble interpreting their reactions. She and Deanna had confided in each other for years now and Beverley was fairly sure that she was the only one who really knew how Deanna felt about the breakdown of her relationship with Worf, and Will Riker's part in it. And, whilst there were some things she and Jean-Luc didn't discuss, notably sexual relationships, they were often each other's first choice of confidant.  
So, what was going on between her friends and why hadn't either of them discussed it with her? Their body language in the turbolift had been strange; they had avoided making eye contact and Deanna had moved away from Jean-Luc. They had both avoided telling her much about their shore leaves, deliberately diverting her when she tried to find out more details. Had they fallen out over Deanna's choice of partner? It sounded as though Jean-Luc had been very protective towards her; could he have tried to scare off Deanna's fling? Beverley shook her head, it would be very unlike Jean-Luc to interfere. And it was unlikely that he would need to; despite Deanna's flippancy in Sickbay, she was actually fairly careful when engaging in recreational sex, using her empathy to avoid nasty situations. So, what could the problem be?  
Frustrated, Beverley finished her lunch and returned the dishes to the replicator. Checking the chronometer, she realised that she had enough time to talk to one of them before going back on duty. Checking with the computer, she discovered Jean-Luc was in a meeting but that Deanna was alone in her quarters

Reaching Deanna's quarters, she was not surprised when the door opened before she could reach for the chime; Deanna found her easy to sense, saying that she projected incredibly clearly.

'Hello, Beverley. Would you like a drink?'

'Coffee, please.'

Beverley sat on the sofa and waited whilst Deanna got a coffee and a herbal tea from the replicator. Deanna sat down beside her and said,

'What's bothering you?'

Cursing Deanna's empathy, which made a subtle approach impossible, Beverley said,

'What's going on between you and Jean-Luc? Have you had an argument?'

'An argument? No, of course not.'

'So?'

'So?'

'So, why are you and Jean-Luc avoiding each other?'

'We're not. At least, I'm not avoiding him and I don't think he's avoiding me.'

'If you're not avoiding him, why did you step away from him in the turbolift this morning?'

For a moment, Deanna looked panic-stricken but as Beverley watched, she regained control, donning a thoughtful expression,

'He experienced a strong emotion and I moved away to make it easier for me to shield myself.'

'Really? What was he feeling?' asked Beverley.

'Beverley, you know I'm not going to tell you that. Jean-Luc's emotions are not anyone's business unless it affects the running of the ship and what I felt from him was perfectly normal.'

'Spoilsport.'

'Nosy Parker.'

'Nosy what?'

'Parker. It's an old saying from Earth. Data told me about it. It means someone who likes to know everything that's going on around them.'

'Bizarre.'

'Yes. Data seemed to like it though, along with 'Lovely jubbly', 'Steady on down the bus' and several others.'

'I suppose it's better than his quest for the perfect shade of pink.'

Data had spent several months trying to work out why people preferred one particular shade of a colour rather than another. The entire crew had been asked to give their preferences and Data had then tried to work out what the 'perfect' shade of each colour was. For some reason pink had particularly fascinated him and he had spent days wandering around the ship with pieces of paper with different shades of pink on them, asking and re-asking peoples opinions on them. He had had to abandon his project because any shade he chose caused outrage from those who didn't like it. He had also failed to take into account the variation in eyesight across the various species on board.

'Just be prepared for him to come out with archaic words and phrases.'

'I love Data but sometimes he can be really strange.'

'Yes, his quest to understand humans takes him down some really strange routes sometimes.'

Beverley raised her cup to her lips and caught a glimpse of Deanna's chronometer,

'Damn, I'm going to be late back on duty.'

Putting her cup down, she pulled Deanna in to a brief hug and rushed out. In the turbolift, she thought about what Deanna had said. She was sure that Deanna had told her the truth so why had she looked panic-stricken? And why did she feel as though she'd just been manipulated? She realised that her discussion with Deanna had convinced her that she and Jean-Luc _were_ concealing something but, if it wasn't an argument, what was it?

Beverley spent the rest of her shift feeling tense and anxious. Back in her quarters, she found herself pacing up and down as she tried to work out what was going on. Flinging herself on the sofa, she found herself looking at a picture of Jack, taken just a few weeks after they'd met. He'd taken her to the beach and they'd chatted for hours about anything and everything. She remembered them telling each other about their friends and how baffled she'd been when he'd used 'Johnny' when talking about Jean-Luc. He'd laughed and explained that in Federation Standard, 'Jean' translated as 'John' so he always called Jean-Luc 'Johnny'.

'Doesn't he mind?' she'd asked.

'No, he says Jean-Luc is too formal and besides Johnny's better for pulling girls.'

'A major concern,' she'd said, sarcastically.

'It is for Johnny. I've never met a beautiful woman he wouldn't want to get into bed.'

Beverley reeled as her brain put all the clues together: Deanna in Sickbay laughingly saying that perhaps her lovers' name was John. The fact that her lover had not tried to contact her. Jean-Luc's wariness when she'd asked if they'd spent much time together. Jean-Luc chasing away other men when they were at the pool together. The way they'd both avoided telling her much about their shore leave. Jean-Luc's easy agreement to changing counsellors. Their body language in the turbolift. And the feeling she kept having that they were both lying to her.

They were in a relationship. But why hadn't they told her? Even if he were personally embarrassed, Jean-Luc should have told her because Deanna was part of her medical team and she needed to know so that she could avoid possible conflicts of interest. If Deanna were happy about it, she would have been bubbling over with excitement, unable to keep it to herself. So, that must mean that Deanna was not happy about what had happened. So what had gone wrong? How had their relationship failed so quickly?

Beverley took a deep breath, feeling a bit shaky. She had been the one who had turned Jean-Luc down but she had just assumed he'd be there whenever she wanted him. But he had moved on. And because of their past history, Deanna had felt unable to confide in her. Well, she knew she was a fool, but she was damned if she'd be a selfish fool. Beverley paced around the room until her breathing had calmed down and then set off for Deanna's room. Again the door opened as soon as she reached it. Reminding herself that Deanna was one of her closest friends, Beverley walked up to Deanna and said quietly,

'Why didn't you tell me you'd had a relationship with Jean-Luc?'

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	10. Chapter 10

Disclaimer: Star Trek is the property of Paramount. I own nothing.

Chapter Ten

Deanna looked at Beverley in shock, wondering how she had figured it out. Desperately trying to kick start her brain, she said,

'I haven't…well, not really.'

'Not really?' said Beverley, sceptically.

'It's not really a relationship.'

'Not really a relationship? So what is it?'

'Jean-Luc and I decided not to tell anyone, but he and I have a Friendly Fire agreement.'

'A what?'

'A Friendly Fire agreement. You know, an off ship no strings sex agreement.'

'Oh, like fuck buddies?'

Deanna smiled at Beverley's blunt phrasing. One of the things that often surprised people was Beverley's direct, and sometimes crude, phraseology but Deanna, having grown up on Betazed, found it refreshing. Betazoids were usually honest and direct, simply because telepaths know when they're being lied to, and Deanna sometimes found humans irritatingly mealy-mouthed.

'Yes, but only when we're on leave together. And strictly speaking, I've broken the rules because it's not supposed to be mentioned on board ship at all.'

'So, you're supposed to pretend that nothing happened once you're back on board ship?'

'Yes. You're not supposed to discuss it with each other or tell anyone else.'

'So, that's why you and Jean-Luc have been behaving so strangely.'

'I thought I'd behaved normally,' said Deanna, feeling slightly defensive.

'You did but there were some little things that were odd, like you moving away from Jean-Luc in the turbolift.'

'I told you the truth about that.'

'Yes, but you looked horrified that I'd noticed. I take it that it was lust that Jean-Luc was feeling?'

'Yes but whether provoked by you or me, I don't know.'

Beverley wondered why Deanna had said that, before realising that Deanna would expect her to be jealous. Letting herself be introspective for a moment, Beverley examined her feelings and realised that she wasn't jealous, well maybe a tiny bit, but not anywhere near as much as she'd have expected. Filing that away for closer examination later, Beverley asked,

'So, how was it?'

Deanna looked evenly at her and said,

'It was fun.'

Deanna's tone was repressive and Beverley realised that she wasn't going to get any details tonight. Still, Deanna was a friendly extrovert; she was bound to talk about it at some point. Reminding herself to ask leading questions at a suitable moment, Beverley merely raised an eyebrow and said,

'Good.'

Deanna relaxed as Beverley stopped probing, pleased that Beverley hadn't exploded with rage or stormed off. Cautiously lowering her shields, she extended her empathic senses towards Beverley. Her first impression was of confusion, overlaid with relief, curiosity and a very small amount of jealousy. Deanna kept her expression neutral, letting none of the surprise that she felt show. She had expected Beverley to feel angry and betrayed, at the very least, and probably very jealous. What had happened between her and Jean-Luc? Jean-Luc had told her in counselling that Beverley wanted to stay friends and wasn't willing to move past that but she'd always thought that Beverley was in love with Jean-Luc and that it was only a matter of time before they got together. But it had been eight years. Eight years of them dancing around each other but never taking the final step. Perhaps her assumptions were wrong.

Smiling at Beverley, she said,

'Would you like something to eat?'

'Yes, please.'

Deanna went to the replicator and ordered a salad for each of them, followed by Bolian Chocolate Dream for pudding, deciding that they both deserved something decadent.

Sitting at the dining table, Deanna asked,

'What else gave us away?'

'You both avoided telling me about your shore leaves and Jean-Luc got really anxious when I asked him about you. And he agreed to change counsellors far too easily; I expected to have to really work hard to persuade him. And you said your lover's name was 'John'.'

'I didn't want to lie to you any more than I absolutely had to.'

'I think that was Jean-Luc's problem too. He just kept changing the subject whenever I mentioned his shore leave and he looked so annoyed when Will teased him about scaring off the men bothering you. He should have been embarrassed but secretly pleased, smug even.'

Deanna chuckled,

'He was certainly smug about it at the time.'

'I bet he was. I bet he enjoyed all the envious looks he got from other men when he was out with you too.'

Deanna smiled happily,

'He managed not to gloat too obviously but, yes, he did.'

'Men are very predictable sometimes.'

'Only sometimes?' asked Deanna, facetiously.

Beverley laughed,

'You are so bad! What would your mother say?'

'That all men are ruled by their sex drives and they just pretend to have more noble motives.'

Beverley laughed again,

'No wonder Jean-Luc is terrified of her. She'd eat him alive.'

Deanna was completely unprepared for the jealousy and rage she felt at the thought of her mother with Jean-Luc. Exerting rigid control, she forced herself to laugh and say,

'She's not Jean-Luc's type at all.'

'No, he hates predatory females.'

'True,' agreed Deanna, feeling relief surge through her.

They finished eating and Beverley left to check on one of her patients in Sickbay. As soon as she'd gone, Deanna said,

'Computer, where is Captain Picard?'

'Captain Picard is in his Ready Room.'

'Is he alone?'

'Yes.'

Pausing only to check her appearance, Deanna quickly made her way to the Bridge. Nodding at Will, who was sat in the centre seat, she made her way to the Ready Room and rang the chime.

Jean-Luc looked up from his desk as Deanna entered, suppressing the longing that went through him at the sight of her sensual beauty,

'Come in, Deanna. Sit down.'

Deanna sat down, raising her shields fully, to avoid reacting to his emotions. Taking a deep breath, she said,

'Beverley knows about our Friendly Fire agreement.'

'What? I mean, how?'

'She guessed.'

'Guessed? How?'

'From the things we said and what we didn't say but should have. We both avoided talking about our shore leaves, I told her my lover was called John and apparently, you got very tense when she asked you about me.'

'And she worked out we were in a Friendly Fire agreement from that?'

'No, she thought we'd had a relationship that had failed. She came to check that I was all right so I had to tell her the truth.'

Jean-Luc nodded,

'I suppose we should have realised that Beverly would work it out. Was she…?'

'She was all right. Curious. You can expect to be interrogated, I would say.'

Jean-Luc grimaced,

'How angry was she?'

'A lot less than I would have expected.'

Jean-Luc sighed,

'I'll be prepared to be grilled over breakfast.'

Deanna smiled ruefully,

'At least she won't try and get all the details from you.'

'Has she…?'

'Asked me for all the details? I managed to put her off this evening but I've no doubt that she will do her best to find out everything she can. You know how inquisitive she is.'

Jean-Luc flinched and Deanna continued,

'Don't worry; she'll ask but I won't tell.'

'Thank you,' said Jean-Luc, fervently.

Deanna smiled warmly at him, suppressing her amusement. Jean-Luc was the best lover she'd ever had and, yet, he was still worried about what she might say. She was tempted to teased him about it but unfortunately, his Ready Room was very definitely not the place for that, so she got up to leave instead. Without thinking about it, Jean-Luc escorted her to the door, placing a hand gently on the small of her back. The contact sent a gentle buzz up Deanna's spine, pleasurable and familiar. Jean-Luc gently ran his hand up her back and along her collarbone. Deanna relaxed into the contact and neither of them noticed when the door opened automatically, bringing them directly into Will's line of sight.

For a moment, Will thought that he'd imagined it but then the Captain jerked his hand away guiltily and he realised that his eyes weren't deceiving him. Puzzled, he watched Deanna murmur farewell and walk calmly across the Bridge and into the turbolift. Deanna's demeanour was as serene as always but Will knew that Deanna didn't encourage casual contact because it magnified her empathic abilities, making it impossible for her to ignore the other person's emotions. So why hadn't she edged away from the Captain? And for that matter, Jean-Luc was notoriously reserved, very rarely initiating physical contact with his crew and he was particularly careful as far as female crewmembers went. He would never touch a female officer in a non-neutral area unless he knew it was welcome.

Will gazed after Deanna with a sick feeling in his gut as his brain reached the obvious conclusion; Deanna had allowed the touch because she wanted it.

White faced, he went to the Ready Room door and rang the chime. When the door opened, he walked up to the Captain and said,

'Sir, do you have a minute?'

'Of course, Will. Would you like to sit down?'

'No, thank you, Sir. Permission to speak freely?'

'Granted,' said Jean-Luc.

'As Captain, you are required to inform the first officer if you are in a relationship with a member of the crew.'

'I'm not in a relationship with a member of the crew.'

'In that case, Sir, I regret to inform you that, should Counsellor Troi decide to bring a case of sexual harassment against you, I would have no choice but to testify against you.'

Jean-Luc looked at Will in horror,

'Will, you know me better than that; I would never harass Deanna.'

'Then what the _hell_ is going on! You say you're not in a relationship with her, yet when the door opened you had your hands on her, in a way that I know she doesn't usually tolerate, so tell me why that isn't sexual harassment?'

Jean-Luc grimaced, keeping their Friendly Fire agreement secret was turning out to be impossible and if there was one person he hadn't wanted to tell, it was Will. Prepared for an explosion, he said,

'Deanna and I had a Friendly Fire agreement when we were on Ydea.'

'A Friendly Fire agreement?'

'Yes, you've had them, surely.'

'Not for a few years. Wow.'

'I understand and you were right anyway, Will, I shouldn't have been touching her; it's supposed to be strictly professional on board ship.'

'I see. Well if you'd excuse me, Sir.'

Will rose and left as quickly as possible, trying to suppress the jealousy and rage building inside of him. Jealousy and rage that he knew he had no right to feel.

Returning to his shift on the Bridge, Will sat and brooded.

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	11. Chapter 11

Disclaimer: Star Trek is the property of Paramount. I own nothing.

Chapter Eleven

Jean-Luc grimaced as the door shut behind Will; he and Deanna were doing a lousy job of keeping their Friendly Fire agreement secret and, of course, the two people who had found out were the two they most wanted to hide it from. Well, Beverley was anyway, he didn't know any more how Deanna felt about Will. Will had clearly been very upset but for no good reason that Jean-Luc could see; he'd had eight years to re-kindle his romance with Deanna but hadn't, so what Deanna did was none of his business any more. Jean-Luc sighed and reached for his comm badge but aborted the motion before he'd activated it,

'Computer, where is Counsellor Troi?'

'Counsellor Troi is in her quarters.'

'Is anyone else present.'

'Negative, Counsellor Troi is alone.'

Jean-Luc tapped his comm badge,

'Picard to Troi.'

'Troi here, Captain.'

'Deanna, Will knows about our Friendly Fire agreement.'

There was a pause before Deanna said,

'Understood.'

Jean-Luc hesitated, wondering whether or not to tell her about Will's accusation of abuse, but decided that there was no need. Instead, he said,

'He saw me touch your back and shoulders earlier. I'm afraid I wasn't being professional.'

'No, but I didn't stop you either. We both need to remember that we aren't on leave any more.'

'Yes.'

Jean-Luc considered telling her how upset Will was but decided against it; why should Deanna feel responsible for Will's emotions? She had enough of other people's emotions in her professional life. As he hesitated, Deanna said,

'Good night, Sir.'

'Good night, Counsellor.'

Jean-Luc terminated the connection and sat down at his desk, intending to work, but found himself unable to concentrate. The confrontation with Will had upset him and he decided to go and read in his quarters instead.

Several hours later, having eaten and read the first act of Othello, Jean-Luc decided to get ready for bed. He was still slightly concerned about Will but had come to the conclusion that, in the end, it was only Deanna's opinion that mattered as far as their Friendly Fire agreement was concerned. As long as she was happy with it, it was no one else's business. Thinking about Deanna, brought more enjoyable memories to the surface and he found himself becoming aroused. Undressing, he lay on the bed and moved his hand lazily as he thought of Deanna and their last night on Ydea…

Deanna was dozing off when she felt a familiar mind reaching towards hers. Sleepily, she lowered her shields slightly, to see who it was, and shuddered with pleasure as Jean-Luc's arousal soared through her body. Groaning, she let her hands move along her body as the connection deepened. Thinking of Jean-Luc, Deanna found her mind going to their last night on Ydea…

Deanna had read about an interesting old Earth sexual ritual and had decided to see if Jean-Luc enjoyed it. She'd waited until he was sat on the sofa in her room, reading. She had gone over to the sofa and smiled at him. He had put his book down and stood to pull her into his arms for a tender kiss. Deanna had melted under his lips and she had happily allowed him to deepen the kiss. When he would have undone her dress, she had gently pushed his hands away, saying,

'There's something I'd like to try.'

'Oh?'

'Wait there and close your eyes.'

Jean-Luc had obediently sat back down on the sofa with his eyes closed and Deanna had hurried to the wardrobe to get out some more clothes and put them on. Dressing quickly, she grabbed a handful of hairpins and put her hair up into a messy bun. She could feel Jean-Luc's curiosity building but he kept his eyes closed. Finished, she stood in front of him and said,

'You can open your eyes now.'

Jean-Luc opened his eyes and Deanna could sense his disappointment at finding her fully dressed. Smiling mischievously, she touched a button on the bedside console and music started playing. She had decided on a modern interpretation of a jazz song, provocative and sensual with upbeat lyrics. Deanna started dancing, moving away from him, to give herself room. She danced for a few seconds and then slowly moved her hands up to her hair and removed the pins holding her hair in place. As her hair cascaded down her back she walked over to Jean-Luc, ran her hand across his shoulders and dropped the hairpins in his lap. She felt the surge of excitement as he reacted to her touch. He reached for her but she evaded his hands and moved away. Next, Deanna very slowly unfastened her jacket and swaying sensually to the beat, slid it off her shoulders and tossed it into Jean-Luc's lap. Jean-Luc's curiosity had given way to desire and she opened her mind fully to his, reflecting both their desire back to him, forming a feedback loop.  
Her cardigan was next. She'd found a retro-styled one, with buttons, and she took her time, fiddling with the buttons before slowly sliding them out of their holes, one at a time. By the time she threw it at him, Jean-Luc was visibly aroused, holding himself in his seat by force of will alone. Deanna reached for the fastening on her dress, hands shaking as their empathic connection sent her arousal spiralling upwards. Turning her back on Jean-Luc, she slid her dress off her shoulders and let it slip past her shoulder blades. Dimly, she heard Jean-Luc's breathing speed up but by then she was only vaguely aware of ordinary things; her whole mind was consumed with lust, his and hers. She let the dress slip to the floor and turned to face Jean-Luc again. Making eye contact with him, she slowly ran her hands up from her waist to her breasts, caressing them briefly before reaching round to undo her bra. She felt Jean-Luc's self-control snap a split second before his hands were on her breasts, scratching across them as his mouth reached for hers. They kissed passionately and Jean-Luc backed her against the wall, pinning her in place so he could pinch her nipples and grind against her whilst continuing to plunder her mouth. That small amount of contact was enough to send Deanna over the edge, screaming into his mouth. By the time she was aware again, Jean-Luc was sliding her panties down her legs, reaching round to cup her buttocks and pull her to him. Deanna stepped out of her panties and reached between them to yank his shirt open. They kissed again and Jean-Luc ran his hand across her lower back, scratching gently until he found the right spot, the spot that made her writhe helplessly against his hand, desperately seeking more contact. He pushed the pad of his finger firmly inwards and she gasped with pleasure, holding on to his shoulders for support as her knees turned to jelly. Holding her up, Jean-Luc moved them over to the bed and then lifted her so she was lying face down on the bed. Turning her head, Deanna watched as he rapidly took off his clothes and joined her on the bed. Jean-Luc straddled her hips and continued his exploration of her lower back, soon finding a second erogenous zone, almost as sensitive as the first, using one hand on each spot, alternately scratching and pressing. Deanna climaxed again, the combined pleasure from his hands and mind sending her soaring into an intense climax. Jean-Luc turned her gently on to her back and began to nibble and suck her skin, starting at her collarbones and moving slowly downwards, spending several minutes on each breast before moving downwards again. By the time he reached her centre, Deanna was whimpering mindlessly and a single touch of his tongue was all that was needed to make her climax again.  
This time, when she came down from her high, Deanna could sense that Jean-Luc's arousal had become uncomfortable. Taking control, she pushed him into the centre of the bed and got him to lie on his back. Impaling herself, she rode him frantically until they both climaxed.  
Sweaty and sated, she'd asked,

'Did you like my striptease?'

Almost asleep, he'd replied in French, and she'd had to wait for the Universal Translator to translate,

'The sexiest thing I have ever seen.'

In their separate beds, Jean-Luc and Deanna both climaxed at the same time before falling into a deep and restful sleep.

The following morning, Deanna awoke feeling content and satisfied. It wasn't until several minutes had passed that she realised that it was not only her own emotions that she was feeling. Pulling her mind away from Jean-Luc's she realised that staying professional was going to be harder than she'd thought.

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	12. Chapter 12

Disclaimer: Star Trek is the property of Paramount. I own nothing.

Chapter Twelve

Jean-Luc forced himself to adopt a calm and relaxed demeanour as he walked towards Beverley's quarters for breakfast. Inside, he was feeling extremely nervous. Even though Deanna had told him that Beverley was not angry about their Friendly Fire agreement, Jean Luc found it hard to believe that Beverley wasn't furious with him. He'd slept with her best friend and then not told her about it. Gritting his teeth and reminding himself that cowardice was not an acceptable character trait in an officer, Jean-Luc walked towards Beverley's door, prepared to stop instantly if she had re-programmed her door. The door opened and he stepped inside.  
Beverley was stood by the replicator and, as Jean-Luc walked in, she said,

'Good morning, Jean-Luc. The usual?'

'Good morning, Beverley. Yes, please.'

'Crusher breakfast B3.'

The replicator hummed and Jean-Luc automatically went over and helped Beverley carry their breakfast to the table. As always, he carried the coffee and fruit juice, whilst Beverley brought over the croissants and jam. They sat down and Jean-Luc busied himself with pouring coffee and spreading jam on his croissant, waiting for the interrogation to begin. He didn't have long to wait. He'd no sooner taken a bite of his croissant, when Beverley said,

'So, was the sex good?'

Narrowly avoiding choking, Jean-Luc swallowed his mouthful before saying repressively,

'You know I never discuss my sex life with you.'

'So it was disappointing?'

'No, of…dammit Beverley! I am not going to tell you what having sex with Deanna was like.'

'Judging by other men's reactions, it must be amazing. I gather she uses her empathy to enhance the experience.'

Seeing Jean-Luc glaring at her, Beverley continued,

'Deanna told me about it. She said she found it hard to imagine what sex would be like without her empathic senses. We were comparing experiences, that's all.'

Seeing the look of horror on Jean-Luc's face, Beverley innocently continued,

'Deanna's very open about sex. I'm not sure whether that's because of growing up on Betazed or her mother's influence. What do you think?'

'Betazoid culture is very open about sexual relationships. Given that they're nearly all telepaths, they'd have to be, don't you think?'

'True, but a lot of other cultures are very open about sex. I can think of several human cultures, Ephedra for example, where it's considered completely normal to discuss sex openly, so I don't understand why you're so uptight about it, Jean-Luc.'

'I am not uptight about sex! It's just that I was brought up to believe that sex was only discussed by anyone other than the people involved if you needed information or if there was a problem.'

'Well, how about some information? Deanna is only half human and physically she's more Betazoid than human. I can recommend some texts, if you'd like?'

'No, thank you.'

'But Jean-Luc, Deanna is significantly different to human women.'

'I know, Doctor. I have no need of any information, thank you.'

Beverley looked at Jean-Luc, who was looking seriously annoyed, and replaying the last few sentences in her mind, suddenly realised what he meant,

'Jean-Luc, you've already read some texts, haven't you?'

Blushing furiously, Jean-Luc replied,

'Well, of course I did. I'm not some ignorant xenophobe, you know.'

'Of course not, Jean-Luc,' said Beverley peaceably, delighted to have got as much information from him as she had. She knew that she would have to wait for a few days before interrogating him again or he would close up, so she changed the subject, asking him about their new mission.

Three days later

Deanna walked along the corridor towards her quarters, nodding and smiling at the occasional person she passed. Senior officers quarters were fairly quiet at this time of day as most of the other officers had lunch in the galley or in Ten Forward, but Deanna found it useful to have her lunch alone. She could weaken her shields and, if necessary, centre herself, ready for the afternoon's counselling session. She sensed Reg Barclay ahead of her but when she turned the corner, only his feet could be seen, sticking out of an access panel, so she was able to walk quietly past him, without stopping to chat. Years of counselling Reg had made her quite fond of him but it was always necessary to keep him at arms length because he remained infatuated with her. She had hoped that time would dim her charms, but he still yearned for her, like a lovesick puppy, even though Deanna had made it clear that she wasn't interested.  
Deanna was within twenty feet of her quarters when she sensed Will Riker coming towards her. She considered speeding up to avoid meeting him but told herself not to be childish. Ever since he'd found out about her Friendly Fire agreement with Jean-Luc, Will had been like a bear with a sore head, alternating between jealousy, anger and self-pity. Deanna had been spending as little time as possible in his company, hoping that he would calm down. Putting on her most serene expression and reinforcing her shields, Deanna carried on walking. A few seconds later, Will came round the corner, walking quickly. Even through her shields, Deanna felt his emotions change the instant he saw her, becoming bleak and angry. Forcing herself to keep walking, she said,

'Hello, Will. Off to lunch in Ten Forward?'

'Yes,' replied Will, curtly.

Deanna ignored his tone and went to walk past him but Will side stepped to block her,

'Deanna, we need to talk.'

'What about?'

'About us.'

'There is no 'us', Will.'

'That's not true! You know how I feel about you.'

'Do I, Will? Do you? Because you only seem to love me when I'm in a relationship with someone else. The minute I'm available, you aren't interested.'

'It's not like that!'

'Isn't it? So, what is it like? I'm available now, so if you love me, why aren't you trying to get us back together?'

'You're not available, you're screwing the Captain!'

'Jean-Luc and I have a Friendly Fire agreement which, as you know, is immediately negated if one of you starts a relationship.'

'Yeah. Right. So how does him fondling you in his Ready Room fit in with that?'

'We forgot ourselves for a moment. That was the first time Jean-Luc touched me since we came back from Ydea.'

'Sure. And I'm the Romulan Emperor. I never thought you'd lie to me, Deanna.'

'I'm not. But I've got a question for you, Will: what gives you the right to ask me about my relationships? You've made it abundantly clear that you don't want to have a relationship with me but as soon as I'm seeing anyone else, you act as though you own me. Our relationship ended the day you stood me up on Risa and didn't even have the guts to send me a message so you can stop behaving like a spoilt baby and stay out of my life!'

Deanna's anger shocked Will for a moment but the anger and jealousy he was feeling made him lash out,

'Not going to Risa was the best decision of my life! If I'd gone I might have found out too late what you're like.'

'Really? And what am I like?'

'An over-sexed slut with a taste for her co-workers! Who's going to be next, Deanna? Geordi? Or how about Data? He wouldn't get tired or bored.'

'At least he'd give me more emotional support than you do. You're so afraid of commitment that you'd rather have a string of one night stands than even try to have a relationship.'

'You fucking bitch!'

Will barged past Deanna and stormed off. White-faced, Deanna ran into her quarters, locking the door behind her.

Neither of them noticed Reg Barclay, standing dumbfounded in the middle of the corridor. Reg had finished his diagnostic on the power conduit and started to pack up, when he had heard Counsellor Troi and Commander Riker starting to argue. He had crept nervously round the corner and had stayed fixed to the spot as the argument washed over him. Now he didn't know what to do. He wanted to go and comfort Counsellor Troi but even he knew that he couldn't, he wasn't her boyfriend or even a close friend. And he longed to go after Commander Riker and tell him what a foul-mouthed swine he was. But how could he? Commander Riker would just ignore him or put him on report. Perhaps he could just go up to Commander Riker and hit him. But that would be striking a senior officer which was a court-martial offence. Reg was still standing there, trying to decide what to do, when his data padd signalled an incoming message. The message was from Counsellor Troi, cancelling his counselling session because she was feeling ill. Shocked, Reg made a decision.

In Sickbay, Beverley had just finished talking to Deanna, who had told her that she was feeling nauseous and was going to go to bed, when Reg Barclay walked in. Sighing inwardly, she said,

'Hello, Reg. What can I do for you?'

'I…um…I wanted to talk to you about Counsellor Troi.'

'What about Counsellor Troi?'

'She's… she's cancelled my counselling session today.'

'Yes. She's not feeling well.'

'I know…I mean…I know that's what she said b…but it's not true.'

'What do you mean, it's not true?' asked Beverley, sharply.

'I was working on a p…power conduit near Counsellor Troi's quarters and I heard them arguing.'

'Who?'

'C…Counsellor Troi and C…Commander Riker.'

Beverley led Reg into her office,

'Sit down and tell me all about it.'

'W..well…'

Reg explained what had happened and saw Beverley's face flush with anger,

'That hypocritical son of a bitch! He called Deanna a slut, after all the women he's slept with!'

'I…I…know. B…but what can we do?'

'You can't do anything, Reg, but I can. You leave it to me.'

'B…but…'

'Reg, promise me you won't go after Commander Riker. I will deal with him.'

Reg looked at the floor but when Beverley insisted, he reluctantly promised.

Beverley sent Reg back to work and sat in her office, trying to decide what to do. Technically, a personal argument between Deanna and Will was none of her business but she was fed up with Will behaving like an idiot. He needed to be taught a lesson and she knew exactly how to do it.

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	13. Chapter 13

Disclaimer: Star Trek is the property of Paramount. I own nothing.

Chapter Thirteen

Beverley checked the Sickbay schedule for the next few days. For her plan to work it had to be possible for her to cover all the routine work on her own. It would be tight but as long as Cho and Ellis continued to improve as quickly as she expected, it should be possible. Checking Selar's latest update, she nodded approvingly, Cho, Ellis and Evans should all be officially returned to duty in two days. Perfect. And, best of all, Will would do it to himself. If he behaved sensibly her plan would backfire, and she'd have to find another way to punish him, but she really didn't think that there was any possibility of her needing a Plan B.

The door to Sickbay opened and Selar came trudging in, looking completely exhausted. Treating crewmembers in their quarters freed up space in Sickbay but it made things more difficult for the Sickbay staff, adding extra time on to their already long shifts. Selar carefully put her medical bag down in it's assigned spot and then stood in the middle of the room, gazing vacantly ahead of her. Beverley walked up to her and said,

'Come into my office.'

Selar followed Beverley into her office and Beverley motioned for her to sit down. Beverley went to the replicator and ordered food and drink for both of them. She waited until Selar had eaten two sandwiches and was starting on her third, before saying,

'You need some time off.'

'As do you.'

'Yes but I'm going to ask the Captain for a week off when we get to Starbase 93 next month. I've looked at the schedule and I was going to suggest that you take seventy-two hours off, starting at the end of alpha shift in two days time.'

'Yes.'

'I'll get the Captain's approval immediately.'

Beverley left Selar sat finishing her meal and crossed to the computer to make the official request. Looking at Selar, falling asleep where she sat, Beverley was glad that Selar was getting some time off. It was too easy to think of Vulcan's as super-human and forget that they had limits too. Selar had been working nineteen hour days for more than eight weeks now, which according to Beverley's calculations, gave Selar a new personal record for endurance. The fact that Selar hadn't argued about the schedule or insisted that she was in no need of leave, confirmed that she had reached the end of her resources.  
It only took five minutes for Selar's leave request to be approved, but by then, Selar was asleep. Smiling fondly at her friend, Beverley quietly walked out of her office and started doing patient rounds.

By the time that Beverley had finished treating her patients, it was past nineteen hundred hours and she was exhausted. Going in to her office she logged in the updated patient notes and was about to leave when she remembered that she needed to send a message to Will. She thought briefly and then began typing. A few seconds later, she hit send with a satisfied smirk on her face.

Will was reading through the personnel files for the new crewmembers when Beverley's message came through. He grimaced slightly as he read it but he knew that Sickbay were ridiculously stretched so he programmed it into his schedule and promptly forgot about it.

It wasn't until a couple of days after Will and Deanna's argument that Jean-Luc discovered what was going on. He'd noticed the increased friction between Will and Deanna, as had all the Bridge crew. In fact he'd had an embarrassing discussion with Data about it, in which he'd ended up admitting that he and Deanna had a Friendly Fire agreement which had then led to a full discussion about Friendly Fire agreements and the rules by which they were governed. The only encouraging thing about it had been Data's puzzled observation that he failed to see why this made Commander Riker's behaviour acceptable. Worf, thank goodness, hadn't come and asked what was going on, though the cold glares that he was giving Will weren't helping the atmosphere on the Bridge. Deanna was apparently calm and serene but Jean-Luc could tell that she wasn't as calm as she seemed.  
Until Reg Barclay was needed on the Bridge, Jean-Luc assumed that it was just about the discussion he and Will had had. However, when he saw Reg deliberately step into Will's path, so that they collided, he knew that he'd missed something. Reg had a tricorder in his hand, which he turned so it scraped along Will's ribs. If Jean-Luc hadn't turned just when he did, he would have assumed that Reg was just being a klutz again, as everyone else on the Bridge did. Jean-Luc stared at Reg in amazement as Reg stammered apologies whilst Will swore at him. When Will started to become vitriolic, Jean-Luc stepped in,

'Are you hurt, Number One?'

'Just a graze, Sir.'

'Go down to Sickbay and get it seen to.'

'Yes, Sir.'

With a last glare at Reg, Will left the Bridge. As the turbolift doors closed, Jean-Luc said,

'Mr Barclay, a word in my Ready Room, please.'

Without waiting for a reply, Jean-Luc strode into his Ready Room. Once inside, he turned and looked at Reg Barclay, who was pale and sweating. Jean-Luc thought for a moment, then said quietly,

'I saw what happened.'

For a moment, he thought Reg was going to faint but Reg surprised him; he pulled himself up to his full height and calmly said,

'Are you going to C…Court M…Martial me, Sir?'

'I don't know. Why did you do it? Have you and Commander Riker been having problems?'

'N…no, Sir.'

'So? What on Earth got into you?'

'I…it's p…personal.'

'Personal?' asked Jean-Luc, baffled. Will and Reg Barclay had virtually no contact socially. The only people they both knew well were Geordi, Data and Deanna. Jean-Luc swore under his breath as he remembered what Beverley had said about how Reg hated being counselled by anyone except Deanna with the added implication that Reg was still infatuated with Deanna.

'It's something to do with Counsellor Troi, isn't it?'

'Yes.'

'What happened?'

'D…don't you know, Sir?'

'No. Did she and Commander Riker argue?'

'Yes.'

'And because of this, you decided to attack Commander Riker?'

'H…he said such h…horrible things to her. D…Doctor Crusher said t…to leave it to her b…but it m…made me so angry.'

Jean-Luc looked at Reg in reluctant sympathy. It had taken him a long time to realise that sometimes you have to let your friends work things out without your interference. No matter how angry or frustrated you are. And there was also the fact that Beverley had decided that Will needed to be punished for what he'd said, which meant that Will had definitely crossed the line as far as Beverley was concerned. Jean-Luc felt his own anger rising and firmly suppressed it. Deanna had not come to him for comfort nor had she made an official complaint about Will's behaviour, so he had to stay out of it. Besides, he was unlikely to think of anything as elegantly savage as whatever Beverley had planned. He made a mental note not to try to find out in case it was something he ought to put a stop to.  
Turning back to Reg, he said,

'Mr Barclay, Counsellor Troi's relationship with Commander Riker is none of your business unless it becomes abusive, in which case it is your duty to report it to myself or Mr Worf immediately. Is that understood?'

'Y…yes, Sir.'

'I'm putting you on Report for causing an injury to a crewmember due to inattention. You will also work double shifts for the next four weeks.'

'Yes, Sir.'

'And if anything else should happen to Commander Riker, I will Court Martial you. Do you understand?'

'Y…yes, S…Sir.'

Relaxing slightly, Jean-Luc said,

'Also, Reg, Deanna is more than capable of taking care of herself. I know she looks like a porcelain doll but she is a strong and independent woman. She wouldn't thank you for what you've done.'

'I know. I d…don't know what came over me, Sir. I'm really s…sorry.'

'Dismissed.'

Reg left and Jean-Luc entered his punishments on the log with a heavy heart, wondering if he should withdraw from the Friendly Fire agreement to save Deanna pain.

Sighing, he stared moodily out of the window until the door chime forced him back to reality,

'Enter.'

Geordi came in and Jean-Luc gestured him to a chair,

'What can I do for you, Mr LaForge?'

'Well, Sir, I was wondering if I could talk to you about Mr Barclay's punishment.'

'What about Mr Barclay's punishment?'

'Well, Sir, it seems a little excessive. I mean, I know Reg can be a complete klutz at times but Commander Riker wasn't seriously hurt, so I wondered why Reg is on Report and has extra duties as well.'

'Did Reg ask you to come and talk to me?'

'No. As a matter of fact, he begged me not to. He said he thought you were more lenient than he deserved. Which doesn't make sense.'

Looking at Geordi's bewildered expression, Jean-Luc realised that he would have to tell Geordi what was going on, if only because someone needed to make sure that Reg controlled himself. At this rate, soon everyone on the ship would know about him and Deanna. Gritting his teeth, he told Geordi about the Friendly Fire agreement and how Will had found out and the row that Reg had overheard.

'You mean Reg tripped him deliberately?' said Geordi, aghast.

'Yes, so you see why I had to give him a significant punishment.'

'Yes, of course. Um, there is one thing I don't understand, Sir.'

'Yes?'

'Friendly Fire agreements are negated by a proper relationship, aren't they?'

'Yes?'

'So if Will's so in love with Deanna, why doesn't he ask her out?'

'I don't know, Geordi. I don't understand Will's attitude at all.'

'He seems to want to have his cake and eat it, if you see what I mean.'

Jean-Luc nodded, thinking that Geordi was right. Will seemed to think that he should be able to have as many flings as he wanted whilst Deanna patiently waited for him to come back to her. The man was a fool.

Geordi handed over a couple of Engineering reports for approval and then headed back to Engineering, mulling over what he'd just heard. He'd been watching Will and Deanna slowly growing apart for years until he'd have sworn that they were just friends. Then Deanna had got together with Worf (and what a weird combination that had been) and suddenly Will was jealous and started interfering even though it was none of his business. The idea of the Captain and Deanna together was intriguing and the more he thought about it, the more well suited he thought they were. He hoped the Captain wouldn't let Will put him off pursuing a relationship with Deanna.

Will finished his shift and decided that he needed to let off steam. After, changing out of his uniform he headed to Ten Forward where he spent the evening drinking synthale and flirting. He managed to persuade one of the civilian scientists to go for a walk in the arboretum with him, which culminated in sex in his cabin. She left and Will fell into a deep sleep, only hearing his alarm after it had been going for fifteen minutes,

'Computer, off. Lights.'

Sitting up groggily, Will said,

'Computer, time.'

'The time is oh-five-hundred hours.'

'What? Why did I set my alarm for oh-five-hundred?'

'Unknown.'

'Computer, schedule…oh shit!'

He had less than fifteen minutes to get to his annual physical and Beverley had specifically asked him to be on time because Selar was on leave so she was on her own.

Will ran into the bathroom.

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	14. Chapter 14

Disclaimer: Star Trek is the property of Paramount. I own nothing.

Chapter Fourteen

Will ran down the corridor and rushed into Sickbay, coming to a breathless halt in front of Beverley at exactly five-thirty. Beverley smiled at him,

'Hello, Will. Sorry to drag you out of bed so early.'

'No problem,' said Will, trying to look alert. He hadn't had time to eat anything and although he'd gulped down a glass of water, he still felt badly dehydrated. Still, he'd have a chance to wake up during the endurance test that always started the physical.

Beverley smiled brightly and said,

'Let's get started.'

She led Will into the side ward used for annual medicals but when he went to get on the treadmill, she stopped him saying,

'Have you forgotten, Will? Starfleet Medical have changed the testing procedure, you have to do the tests in a random order now. Hmm, let's see what the computer has chosen for you.'

Beverley pressed a button on her padd, ostensibly to generate a random test order, but in fact bringing up the order that she had specially selected for Will. She had given it careful thought and believed that she had chosen the worst possible combination for him. Without hesitation she turned Will to face the wall and said,

'Reflex test, human male, Landing Party Officer, begin.'

Will blinked and tried to focus as lights flickered on and off, trying to tap them before they went out. By the time the test finished he was swearing with frustration, as he missed light after light by the smallest of margins. Beverley ignored his frustration and directed him to the fine motor co-ordination test, never one of Will's favourites. This time, exhausted and full of adrenaline from the reflex test, it went abysmally. Needles refused to be threaded, wires touched each other and blocks refused to balance. Gritting his teeth Will forced himself to concentrate on the physical agility test. Naturally gifted at sport, he always found this test easy but today he found himself lagging at the end, too tired to move quickly enough. The next few tests passed in a blur as too little sleep and no food left him working on automatic. Finally, he came to the endurance test and Will forced his leaden legs to move as the computer moved the treadmill up and down to simulate different types of terrain.  
By the time that the endurance test had finished, Will was shaking and covered in sweat. Beverley handed him a glass of rehydration fluid and Will gulped it down gratefully, submitting cheerfully to twenty minutes of routine scans, slowly starting to feel human again. He was about to suggest that they grab a coffee in Ten Forward, when the doors to Sickbay opened and a man in Medical Department uniform came in, accompanied by Data, who said,

'Doctor Crusher, this is Doctor Rivers.'

Data waited whilst the two doctors shook hands, before continuing,

'Doctor Rivers has completed the required orientation and emergency drills. He can therefore begin work in the Medical Department at your discretion.'

'Thank you, Data.'

'You are welcome.'

Will got off the diagnostic bed and shook hands with Doctor Rivers,

'Commander Riker, First Officer. Welcome aboard.'

'Thank you, Sir.'

Will turned to Beverley and said,

'Have you finished, Doctor?'

'Yes, Commander. I'll let you have the results later.'

Will left with Data and Beverley turned to her newest member of staff who was looking round nervously,

'I'll show you around.'

Beverley walked around Sickbay, chatting cheerfully whilst performing a rapid assessment of Doctor Dean Rivers. She'd read his personnel file and knew that he came from Zydi VI and was the youngest of a large family. He had graduated tenth in his class at Starfleet Medical and had been unlucky to miss out on a starship assignment. He had spent the eight months since graduating on Starbase 90 and was well thought of by the CMO there. All good but would he be able to fit in with her and Selar? With only three fully qualified doctors on board, personality conflicts could cause real problems, as they all had to be able to work together. Half an hour later, she was feeling cautiously optimistic; Dean Rivers was understandably nervous but he had a good sense of humour and was enthusiastic about his work. They had breakfast together and then began treating patients.

An hour later, Beverley left him performing routine tests and went into her office to analyse the results of Will's physical. A few minutes later she swore under her breath; she had accidentally achieved the ultimate revenge. If she entered these results into the Sickbay computer, Will would no longer be able to lead landing parties and his future as an officer in Starfleet would be jeopardised. He had failed his annual physical, not just the Landing Party Officer's qualification, but the entire thing. Gnawing her lip, Beverley wracked her brain, looking for a way out. She wanted to punish Will, not ruin his life. She was about to call Data, so that she could use his encyclopaedic knowledge of Starfleet regulations, when she remembered a rarely used medical regulation. Heaving a sigh of relief, she picked up her padd and left her office. Finding Doctor Rivers, she said,

'I have to go up to the Bridge. Call me if you need me.'

Doctor Rivers swallowed but nodded, reinforcing her favourable first impression.

Jean-Luc looked up as the turbolift doors opened and Beverley stepped on to the Bridge. He opened his mouth to ask if she needed anything, but she beat him to it, saying,

'Captain, may I see you and Commander Riker in your Ready Room, please.'

Her tone was serious and Jean-Luc and Will got to their feet immediately, following her into the Ready Room. Jean-Luc led them to the seating area and they sat down. Beverley handed Jean-Luc the padd containing Will's results and said,

'Commander Riker had his annual physical this morning. The results were disappointing.'

Jean-Luc raised his eyebrows at Beverley's phraseology,

'Disappointing?'

'He failed.'

'What?'

'I what?'

Will and Jean-Luc stared at her in stunned disbelief.

'He failed his annual physical. Quite badly, in fact.'

'But, how? He's always sailed through before,' asked Jean-Luc.

'I don't know. Perhaps Commander Riker can answer that question.'

The frost in her voice made Jean-Luc wince inwardly but Will seemed unaffected, saying casually,

'Hell, Beverley, you know I'm not a morning person. I'll come and take it again now. What did I fail? The Fine Motor Co-ordination test?'

'And the Reflex test, the Spatial Orientation test and the Endurance test.'

'What? That can't be right,' said Will, horrified.

'See for yourself,' said Beverley, taking the padd from Jean-Luc and passing it to Will.

Dumbstruck, Will ran his eyes down the results, shaking his head in disbelief at the awful scores he'd recorded in just about everything.

'Will, what happened this morning?' asked Beverley.

'I forgot I had my physical today and I didn't get to sleep until about oh-two-hundred.'

'If you were working late, why didn't you say?'

'I…um…wasn't working.'

Jean-Luc watched as Beverley's temper rose. Normally, he would have tried to intervene but since it was clear that Will had chosen to have sex rather than get some sleep the night before his physical, he deserved what he was about to get.

Beverley started with sarcasm,

'Let me guess, Geordi needed you to read him a bedtime story.'

Will winced, then gritted his teeth, saying,

'I forgot, all right? So, I went to Ten Forward, got chatting to Elise Merron, we had a few drinks and ended up in bed together. We're both single and unattached, so what's the big deal?'

'What's the big deal? You're a senior officer but instead of behaving like a professional, you forget about your physical, despite having been sent a reminder just three days ago. So, instead of getting some sleep, you have sex until the early hours of the morning. And then, when you wake up feeling like death, do you cancel your physical? No, you come and get the sort of results I would expect from an elderly admiral. You failed, Will! If I enter those results into the Sickbay computer, you will no longer be able to lead landing parties and you'll be on Medical Report, for allowing your fitness levels to fall below minimum acceptable levels.'

Will went white as the seriousness of the situation hit him,

'My career's over.'

'Not necessarily,' said Jean-Luc, 'Beverley, you said, 'If I enter those results into the Sickbay computer'. Is there a way you can avoid it?'

'There is, but only if you agree, Jean-Luc. And Will would have to follow the outlined procedure.'

'Go on,' said Jean-Luc.

'Starfleet Regulation M107, paragraph 3, sub-section 2, allows an officer to come in for an assessment prior to his annual physical, if he is concerned about his fitness levels. If his fitness levels are deemed inadequate, he can follow a diet and exercise regime devised by the Chief Medical Officer to improve areas of concern. His annual physical can then be delayed by a maximum of thirty-two days past it's due date.'

Jean-Luc nodded,

'And you think this could apply?'

'Yes. Luckily, Will's annual physical isn't actually due for eight days, so as long as I alter the Sickbay records to show that Will came for a pre-assessment today, I think we can get away with it. However, it does mean that I would have to give Will a diet and exercise regime and he would have to follow it.'

'Anything,' said Will fervently, 'You're a lifesaver, Beverley.'

'Captain?'

'Make it so.'

Beverley returned to Sickbay leaving Jean-Luc looking at Will in concern,

'Will, make sure you pass next time. I really don't want to have to break in a new First Officer.'

'I will, Sir. I wouldn't want to put you to all that trouble.'

The two men smiled wryly at each other and got back to work.

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	15. Chapter 15

Disclaimer: Star Trek is the property of Paramount. I own nothing.

Author's note: Sorry for the long delay – I should be able to update more regularly now. Thanks to everyone who has reviewed. More please. :)

Chapter Fifteen

When Beverley got back to Sickbay, Doctor Rivers was carrying out routine medical checks on one of the new crewmembers and Deanna was idly chatting to Alyssa Ogawa whilst waiting to carry out his mandatory psychological assessment. Beverley walked across to stand next to Deanna,

'Anything to report?'

'Nothing new,' said Deanna.

'Lieutenant Hoffman's results are back, Doctor Crusher,' said Alyssa, handing her a data padd.

Beverley quickly scanned the data pad, nodding in satisfaction,

'Good, he can start physio tomorrow.'

'Yes, Doctor.'

As she turned back to Deanna, she became aware of a sudden silence behind her; the crewman on the bio bed had stopped speaking mid-sentence, presumably noticing Deanna's beauty for the first time. She waited for a moment to see how Dean Rivers would handle the distracted crewman, nodding approvingly as Dean said,

'Lieutenant? About your previous procedures?'

There was no reply and Doctor Rivers continued,

'Sir? We need to finish this, Sir.'

Realising that Dean was out-ranked, Beverley walked over to the bio bed, saying,

'Lieutenant, when you are asked a question by a member of my staff, you will answer immediately.'

Beverley made eye contact with the man on the bio bed and was struck by a sudden surge of attraction. Surprised, she looked more closely at him; he was human, early forties, tall and slim, with dark hair and blue eyes. He was also staring at her with a dumbstruck expression. With an inner thrill, she realised that it had been the sight of her that silenced him. Outwardly, however, she simply raised an eyebrow, saying,

'Lieutenant?'

Blushing, the man said,

'Sorry, I was overwhelmed by your beauty.'

'You're not here to be impressed by my beauty. Pay attention to Doctor Rivers. We're too busy to put up with time wasters.'

Beverley slapped him down automatically, ignoring the pang of guilt that she felt for being so harsh.

She went into her office to try to avoid the inevitable discussion with Deanna but wasn't at all surprised when Deanna followed her,

'Having a bad day?'

'Not particularly.'

'So why were you so harsh with that poor man?'

'He was wasting time.'

'So, it had nothing to do with the fact that you found him really attractive?'

'No,' said Beverley weakly.

'Why don't you go and ask him to have dinner with you? He's single, I checked.'

'I'm too busy.'

'And why would you want a sex life, after all?'

'I don't need sex to make my life complete,' said Beverley defensively.

'Of course you don't but it makes life much more fun.'

Beverley tried to think of a flippant reply but the truth of Deanna's comment was unavoidable. Deanna waited for a moment and then left, looking smug. Beverley swore under her breath before returning to reviewing patient notes.

Will reported to Sickbay immediately after his shift and Beverley immediately ushered him in to her office. Once they were sat down, Beverley said,

'Will, you do understand that we have to be careful to follow the exact procedure?'

'Yes.'

'Good. Now, I've put together a diet and exercise programme based on your performance today compared with last year's medical results.'

Beverley handed him a data padd and Will quickly read through it,

'Three hours of exercise a day?'

'Required to get your fitness levels up to an appropriate level within thirty-two days.'

'But…'

Beverley glared at Will and he subsided and carried on reading,

'No synthehol?'

'Synthehol consists entirely of valueless calories, Will. I've had to reduce your calorie intake significantly as it is. If I make an allowance for synthehol, you're going to feel very hungry. Surely you can go without synthehol for a few days?'

'No, no, it's fine,' said Will hastily, correctly reading the storm signals in Beverley's eyes.

'Anything else?'

'No. This is great. Thank you, Beverley.'

Beverley got up to leave but Will stayed sat down, looking dejected. Beverley waited for a moment and then sat back down, saying,

'What is it?'

'Doesn't it bother you?'

'Doesn't what bother me?'

'Deanna and Jean-Luc?'

'What about Deanna and Jean-Luc?'

'Their Friendly Fire agreement. You can't seriously tell me it doesn't bother you?'

'So, they had fun together whilst they were on leave. Why should it bother me?'

'Come on, Beverley, don't lie to me. You and Jean-Luc are practically joined at the hip and then he has a fling with your best friend and you tell me that you're okay with it?'

'Yes I am, because, one, it's a Friendly Fire agreement not a relationship and, two, Jean-Luc and I are just friends.'

'Fine. So you'll be okay with it when it turns into a full blown relationship?'

'What makes you think it will turn into a relationship, Will? Deanna's still hurting from her break-up with Worf and Jean-Luc, well, Jean-Luc's been avoiding relationships for years.'

'You say that but Deanna doesn't seem to be hurting that badly to me.'

'How would you know? Have you asked her how she feels? Or is it a bit awkward given that you helped break up her engagement to Worf?'

'Well, somebody had to!'

'Why? She was happy with him.'

'He was going to hurt her?'

'What?'

'Physically. He was going to hurt her physically. Not intentionally but you know how violent Klingon sex is.'

'You imbecile! Didn't it occur to you that I might have thought of that?'

'What?'

'I checked to make sure that he wasn't hurting her.'

'How?'

'Selar scanned her every day.'

'But how did you convince her to let you do that?'

'As part of Selar's research project into improving Medical Tricorder calibration, Selar scanned fifty people daily for six months, including every member of the Sickbay staff.'

'But wasn't Deanna suspicious that Selar started this study just as she started dating Worf?'

'No, because Selar started it three weeks before their first date. You may be oblivious to what's going on around you, but I'm not. As soon as I realised that Deanna and Worf were probably going to start dating, I took action. So, I knew that Worf wasn't hurting Deanna.'

'Oh.'

'So your interference was completely unjustified.'

'I didn't know that!'

'No, because you didn't ask. If you were really worried about Deanna, you would have talked to Deanna or I about it, but you didn't because this has nothing to do with Deanna; it's all about you.'

'What!'

'You've used Deanna for years as an excuse to avoid commitment. She was your great love and you could never love another woman like that,' said Beverley, rolling her eyes, 'Well, it was your business when it was only yourself that you were hurting, but now you've started hurting Deanna and I won't put up with it. Is that clear?'

Will flinched as the force of Beverley's words hit him. Instinctively, he tried to placate her,

'Relax, Beverley, I won't interfere unless it's completely necessary.'

'No, Will. You won't interfere at all. You'll let this thing between Jean-Luc and Deanna do whatever it's going to do without any more interference. Otherwise, I'll make your life difficult in ways that you can't even begin to imagine.'

'Fine,' said Will sullenly, 'but when you're dancing at their wedding don't expect any sympathy from me.'

'Why would I need any?' said Beverley, at her most icy, standing up to make it clear that the discussion was over.

Will left, shaking his head in disbelief over Beverley's attitude.

Left to herself, Beverley finished her final patient checks and went back to her quarters. She was supposed to be having dinner with Jean-Luc but she cancelled, telling him that she was too tired. In truth, she was too rattled by her conversation with Will to be able to chat normally with Jean-Luc and the last thing she wanted was for Jean-Luc to ask her what she was thinking about. She forced herself to eat and then started pacing, trying to sort out her emotions. She'd thought that she hadn't been bothered by what was happening between Deanna and Jean-Luc because it was only a Friendly Fire agreement, but the conversation with Will, on top of Deanna's earlier comments, had forced her to realise that she was lying to herself. As she paced, she came to an extremely unpalatable conclusion about what she needed too do. Grimacing, she got ready for bed and lay, staring at the ceiling, fighting the loathing she felt.

It was mid-shift and Deanna had been in her office for an hour when she sensed Beverley outside her office. Finishing the sentence that she was reading, she sat up expectantly but Beverley didn't come in. Puzzled, Deanna lowered her shields slightly and was shocked by what she sensed; Beverley was extremely anxious and upset about something. Deanna waited for a few seconds, in case she'd misunderstood and Beverley wasn't coming to see her, but Beverley was still hovering outside her office. Deanna hesitated; Beverley's behaviour was so out of character that she wasn't sure what to do. However, after a few more seconds she decided that since Beverley was so upset, she couldn't wait any longer. She needed to try to help her friend.

Deanna walked to the door, triggering the opening mechanism, and said,

'Are you coming in?'

For a moment she thought that Beverley would bolt but then she visibly collected herself and marched in, sitting bolt upright on the couch. Beverley handed Deanna a data padd and said,

'I've unlocked my childhood records.'

Deanna looked at Beverley in surprise. She'd always known that Beverley had issues from her past but she had always refused to discuss them and Federation law prevented Deanna from accessing records from Beverley's childhood without her consent.

'Why?'

'Because you need to know what you're up against.'

Deanna noted the confrontational language but ignored it, already knowing that Beverley viewed counselling as a battle, one that was won by forcing the counsellor to sign you fit for duty.

'Does this mean that you…,' Deanna paused before she could say 'want', it was clear that Beverley didn't want counselling, and changed it to, 'you're coming for counselling?'

'Yes.'

'Why now?'

Beverley glared at her and Deanna knew that she'd found exactly the right question. Deanna returned her glare with an expression of bland interest, waiting her out. Reluctantly, Beverley said,

'It was partly what you said…'

'About you getting a sex life?'

'Yes.'

'And?'

'I was talking to Will…'

Deanna waited quietly and after a minute, Beverley continued,

'He thinks you and Jean-Luc are going to end up in a relationship. He asked why it didn't bother me…'

'Doesn't it bother you?'

'No, when Will said that he was sure that you two would end up together, I felt…relieved.'

'Relieved?'

'Yes, because it meant that Jean-Luc would live.'

'What?'

'I've always been afraid that Jean-Luc would die if we became lovers. No, that's not true, I've been sure that he would.'

Deanna looked at her friend in amazement.

'You believe that Jean-Luc will die if you become lovers?'

'I know, completely crazy, isn't it?'

'Worrying, certainly.'

'I spent three hours pacing the floor last night, trying to convince myself that I don't need counselling but even my powers of self-delusion aren't that great.'

Beverley's sarcastic tone of voice didn't fool Deanna; she still had her shields partly lowered and she knew that Beverley was feeling vulnerable and scared. Deanna reached over and gave Beverley's shoulder a gentle squeeze,

'I'll do everything I can to help you.'

Beverley nodded too upset to speak. Deanna took one of Beverley's hands in her's and said,

'I'll read through your notes and then we'll talk.'

Beverley nodded again and left. Deanna picked up the data padd and began to read.


	16. Chapter 16

Disclaimer: Star Trek is the property of Paramount. I own nothing.

Chapter Sixteen

Jean-Luc was in his Ready Room reading an engineering report when he suddenly felt a deep sadness. Blinking back tears, he stopped reading and tried to work out what it was about Geordi's proposed changes that could have affected him. A few minutes later, he had just concluded that engineering reports never made him feel any emotions other than confusion and boredom, when he felt another wave of emotion go through him, this time anger. Using one of the Vulcan techniques that he had learnt during his mind meld with Sarek, Jean-Luc calmed his mind and then reached out. His mind instantly snapped into a familiar connection and he knew with total certainty that he was feeling Deanna's emotions. Worried that she was being attacked, he reached for his comm badge to send security to her office, but then he realised that she wasn't afraid, just furious. Curious now, as well as concerned, he said,

'Computer, where is Counsellor Troi?'

'Counsellor Troi is in her office.'

'Is Counsellor Troi alone?'

'Affirmative.'

Jean-Luc left his Ready Room and walked to the Bridge turbolift, saying,

'You have the Bridge, Number One.'

'Aye, Captain.'

Jean-Luc made his way through the ship as quickly as was consonant with his dignity as ship's Captain, his anxiety mounting. Outside Deanna's office, he paused briefly, and then rang the chime.

'Enter.'

Deanna's voice sounded calm and her expression was serene as she rose from her desk to greet him,

'Captain, come in.'

Jean-Luc sat on the couch and waited until Deanna had sat down before saying,

'Deanna, are you all right?'

'Yes, Captain. I'm fine.'

'Are you sure?'

'Yes, thank you. Why?'

'Because I've been experiencing your emotions for the last few minutes and well, I was concerned.'

'Experiencing my emotions?'

'Yes. You were very sad and then angry, absolutely furious, in fact.'

Deanna stared at him, amazed. Hesitantly she turned her mind inwards and discovered that he was correct; she had initiated an empathic connection with him whilst she was upset. Closing her eyes, she ran through a series of focussing exercises and gently pulled her mind away from Jean-Luc's, reinstating her empathic shields.

'I'm sorry about that, Captain, it won't happen again.'

'It isn't that that concerned me. I was worried about you. Do you want to talk about it?'

'No…actually, yes, I think it might help but it's about a patient…'

'So patient confidentiality applies.'

'Yes.'

'Go ahead.'

'Beverley came to see me earlier. She unlocked her childhood records for me. Did you know that she'd been on Arvada III?'

'Yes, she told me when she was injured on Minos.'

'Did she go into any details?'

'No and I was busy trying to stop her from bleeding to death at the time and afterwards, well, she never spoke about it again.'

'You didn't ask?'

'No, I saw the news reports about it when it happened and if it was even a tenth as bad as it looked then I can't imagine that she'd want to discuss it. The flooding following the moon's collision killed eighty percent of the population and most of the rest died when the water supply became contaminated.'

'I've just been reading the reports,' said Deanna sadly, 'Did you know that Beverley was the only child to survive?'

'No. Is that relevant?'

'Unfortunately, yes. The survivors were all evacuated to Starbase 418, treated and given counselling. Because Beverley was only thirteen, she saw a different counsellor to the others, a child specialist, a Doctor Bowen. I've been reading over her transcripts of her sessions with Beverley and it's abysmal.'

'Abysmal?'

'Yes. Doctor Bowen made no attempt to access Beverley's previous medical records, her school records or any of the reports on what happened on Arvada III.'

'So, how did she treat her?'

'She used her standard technique for mildly traumatised patients. She thinks that it worked but that's because Beverley completely fooled her.'

'At the age of thirteen?'

'Beverley wasn't an ordinary child. You know Beverley's a genius, don't you?'

'Yes.'

'Well, before the disaster, Beverley was three grades ahead in school. Following the disaster, she helped nurse the sick and injured and helped her grandmother develop medicines from the native plant life.'

'Astonishing.'

'Yes. So, eventually the survivors are rescued and Beverley dutifully goes to her first counselling session where Doctor Bowen belittles what has happened and tells Beverley to think of happy things whenever she's upset. Beverley storms out and complains but is told that she has to have counselling sessions with Doctor Bowen until Doctor Bowen is happy that she's over the trauma.'

'So, Beverley promptly finds out what Doctor Bowen wants to hear and makes sure that she tells her it.'

'Yes. Reading the transcripts, it's clear that Beverley was doing research between sessions and was carefully giving graded responses to make it seem as though she was steadily improving.'

'And Doctor Bowen didn't notice?'

'No, she signed Beverley off after eight sessions, completely convinced that Beverley was fine.'

'Eight sessions! After an experience like that!'

'I know. That's why I was so furious. Doctor Bowen was absolutely incompetent and Beverley is still living with the consequences.'

'Still?'

'Yes, I suspect that she's never dealt with the guilt, anger and grief from those events and combined with her other bereavements, it's crippled her ability to form relationships, particularly, sexual relationships.'

'Because she represses the emotions instead of dealing with them?'

'Yes and it's got worse over time.'

'Is there anything I can do to help?'

'Just be her friend.'

Jean-Luc nodded,

'If there are any resources you need, ask and I'll get them.'

'Thank you, Captain.'

Jean-Luc left and Deanna started planning her sessions with Beverley. Confident that she had a reasonable plan of action, Deanna sent Beverley an appointment schedule.

It was just before shift change when Deanna sensed Beverley outside her office door again. This time Beverley rang the chime immediately and when Deanna lowered her shields, she realised that Beverley was fairly calm. Beverley sat on the couch, saying,

'I've put the appointments in my schedule and now that Dean's here, there's even a chance I'll have time to come to them.'

'We can reschedule any that you miss.'

Beverley nodded absently and Deanna waited for her to come to the point of her visit, she certainly hadn't come to have an inane conversation about missed appointments. Beverley looked at her hands for a few seconds then said,

'Will you be able to help me?'

'I wouldn't have made you the appointments if I didn't think that I could.'

There was another pause and Beverley said,

'I've been thinking about Jean-Luc again.'

'Oh?' said Deanna, struggling to keep a calm demeanour. Was Beverley about to lay a claim to Jean-Luc?

'And I've realised that it wasn't just my fear that stopped us from having a relationship.'

'Go on.'

'It's also because of the man he is. He's too gentle for me.'

'Too gentle?' asked Deanna, surprised.

'I don't mean physically, I mean emotionally. No, gentle's not the right word. Sensitive? Considerate? No, that's not it. Robust. He's not robust enough for me, emotionally, that is.'

Fascinated, Deanna said,

'Not robust enough?'

'Yes, I'd be afraid of hurting him with my temper and so I'd end up walking on eggshells around him. And he plans too much.'

'He plans too much?'

'Yes, I want someone who can be spontaneous.'

'Jean-Luc can be spontaneous. We've seen him think on his feet dozens of times.'

'In a battle or a diplomatic situation, yes, but when he's with me he's always planned everything down to the last detail.'

'And you don't like that?' asked Deanna, baffled. When Jean-Luc had taken her out when they were on Ydea, she had really relished his attention to detail, making sure that everything was exactly how she liked it.

'Not really.'

'Oh.'

'So what I really came here to say was, if you want to have a relationship with Jean-Luc don't think that you'll be stealing him from me because while I love him dearly, he and I could never work as a couple.'

Beverley gave Deanna a hug and left, leaving Deanna gazing blankly into space, her mind reeling. She had deliberately ruled out a full sexual relationship with Jean-Luc because of his relationship with Beverley but now it seemed that she could take it further if she wanted to. So what did _she_ want to do?

Deanna stared out of the viewscreen and thought.

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	17. Chapter 17

Disclaimer: Star Trek is the property of Paramount. I own nothing.

Chapter Seventeen

Two weeks later

Deanna waited patiently for Beverley to answer her. It was the first time that she had asked Beverley about Arvada III and Beverley's mind was full of grief and anger as she struggled to reply. Suddenly, Beverley's emotions receded and she said,

'It was sad but I'm fine now.'

Deanna firmly suppressed her frustration. After years of denial it was going to take more than a few sessions to get Beverley to talk openly about her emotions. However, she was concerned by the wording of the response which was exactly the same as Beverley's reply to Doctor Bowen during their last session all those years ago and wasn't the phrasing she would have expected from Beverley now. Combined with the sudden suppression of her emotions, it suggested an automatic, learned response. Mentally consigning Doctor Bowen to the lava pits of Anre IV, Deanna decided to employ one of her most useful techniques; she waited to see what Beverley would say next.  
Unfortunately, Beverley's extensive medical training included basic counselling techniques and instead of filling the silence, Beverley cocked a sardonic eyebrow at Deanna and waited her out. Deanna conceded defeat; standard techniques were not going to work on Beverley. Sighing, she brought the session to an end, agreeing to meet Beverley in Ten Forward for dinner later.

Once Beverley had gone, Deanna closed her eyes and tried to centre herself, needing to cleanse her mind of the frustration that she was feeling. A frustration that was exacerbated by her own, confused state of mind. Ever since Beverley had told her that she didn't think that she and Jean-Luc were suited, Deanna had been struggling to decide what action, if any, to take.  
Firstly, there was the risk that it had been Beverley's fear talking. Beverley believed what she was saying; Deanna had had her shields partially lowered so she knew that Beverley was telling the truth as she believed it at that moment. But people were very good at fooling themselves. If they weren't, Deanna would barely have a job.  
However, Deanna had been doing some research and it was true that Jean-Luc was very different to Jack Crusher. Whilst they were both born leaders, Jack had been highly extrovert and very easy-going. As was Odan, Beverley's Trill lover. And there was the fact that Beverley had turned Jean-Luc down twice already.  
And Deanna knew from their counselling sessions that Jean-Luc was determined to move on. He was feeling the lack of a partner more as he got older, particularly since his brother and nephew had died. And she had certainly not felt that his attention was wandering when they were together on Ydea.  
To add to the confusion, there was the simple fact that she didn't know how she felt about Jean-Luc. She had loved him for years as a friend but since Ydea she no longer thought of him as just a friend. But was she in love with him? Was he simply a safe haven after her break up with Worf? And why was her mind reaching out to his when she was upset? And how had he reached out to her when he was aroused? As far as she knew, it shouldn't be possible for her and Jean-Luc to do that. Sighing, Deanna firmly stopped herself from thinking about it and concentrated on centring herself before her next appointment.

Jean-Luc was feeling irritated. Will was still behaving like a bear with a sore head and the atmosphere on the Bridge had been tense. However, Will hadn't said or done anything that would have enabled Jean-Luc to officially talk to him, so Jean-Luc had been forced to try to lighten the atmosphere on the Bridge by exchanging small talk with Data. And he had promised to have dinner with Beverley and Deanna in Ten Forward, which would be so much more enjoyable if he wasn't wound up tighter than a bowstring. He just hoped that Beverley wasn't planning a joint interrogation of Deanna and he.

Jean-Luc showered and changed out of uniform and went to Ten Forward. Beverley had suggested meeting there as she had an antenatal appointment last, which she thought was likely to overrun. Since neither Deanna nor Beverley had arrived, Jean-Luc went to the bar and ordered a synthale and looked around the room as he sipped it. His irritation mounted as he saw Will in the far corner of the room, flirting with one of the civilian scientists.

'Throwing him through a bulkhead won't help.'

Jean-Luc turned to Guinan, startled,

'Sorry?'

'You were looking at Commander Riker as if you'd like to throw him through a bulkhead. It won't help, you know.'

'No, but it is tempting,' said Jean-Luc, smiling reluctantly.

'And the way he feels at the moment, he'd probably thank you for it.'

'Thank me for it? What makes you say that?'

'He's feeling guilty, can't you tell?'

Jean-Luc thought about Will's behaviour and realised that Guinan was right.

'So what do I do?'

'Do what you have to do, Captain, but only that.'

Jean-Luc was about to ask Guinan to explain her slightly cryptic reply when the doors to Ten Forward opened and Deanna came in. It was the first time that he had seen her out of uniform since they had come back from Ydea and his whole body reacted at the sight of her looking stunning in a dark blue, long-sleeved dress. Walking across the room, Deanna knew the moment that Jean-Luc had seen her. She could sense his arousal clearly and for a minute she thought that she had lowered her shields but they were fully raised. Smiling and saying hello to people she knew, Deanna made her way over to the bar, stopping a couple of feet away from Jean-Luc, deliberately not impinging his personal space.

'Hello Jean-Luc. Is Beverley running late?'

'Seems to be. What will you have to drink?'

'I'll have a Vulcan Dawn, please.'

Jean-Luc tried to get his arousal under control and was succeeding until Deanna's drink arrived. Like a lot of cocktails, it came with a straw and Deanna casually fiddled with the straw before putting it in her mouth and sucking. At which point, Jean-Luc started to wonder how he was going to get across the room to a table without giving the whole room a show.

Deanna stopped sucking on her straw as she realised what she had inadvertently done. Jean-Luc usually had excellent self-control so she had not expected to have such a dramatic effect on him. Most human and Betazoid males found women sucking on cylindrical objects erotic but Jean-Luc was incredibly aroused. Focussing on his emotions snapped their empathic link into place and Deanna bit back a moan as desire flooded through her brain and then through her body. Shocked, she desperately tried to disentangle her mind from his, failing at first but then she felt Jean-Luc's mind receding from hers. Finally, with her shields firmly in place, Deanna looked across at Jean-Luc. He was gazing into space with a distant look upon his face and Deanna felt his arousal dissipating. Legs shaking, Deanna leant against the bar and concentrated on breathing.

Five minutes later, when Beverley came in, she found them both gazing into space, clearly preoccupied. Smiling at her friends, she said,

'Penny for your thoughts?'

Jean-Luc and Deanna exchanged startled looks and then burst out laughing.

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	18. Chapter 18

Disclaimer: Star Trek is the property of Paramount. I own nothing.

ChapterEighteen

Beverley waited for Jean-Luc and Deanna to stop laughing, then said,

'What's so funny?'

Jean-Luc looked across at Deanna, who smiled innocently and said,

'Jean-Luc was distracted by my cocktail.'

Beverley raised an eyebrow and Deanna put the straw slowly into her mouth and ran her tongue around it and then gently sucked. Jean-Luc looked down at the floor and determinedly reviewed Starfleet procedures for Jeffries Tube maintenance whilst Beverley and Deanna laughed.

Beverley ordered a drink, then they went and found a table and ordered dinner. Beverley was pleased to see that Deanna didn't immediately notice Will and when she did, she didn't flinch or look upset. Looking at Will's glass, Beverley smirked as she realised that he was drinking water. Revenge was definitely sweet, particularly when you were actually improving your victim's health by it. Jean-Luc noticed Beverley's smirk and suddenly realised that he could stop waiting to find out what she had planned for Will, she was already punishing him. A restricted diet and three hours exercise a day and Will had thanked her for it! Jean-Luc shrugged inwardly; Will already looked better than he had for a couple of years and the way that Beverley had done it made it impossible for him to interfere anyway. Jean-Luc turned his attention back to Deanna and Beverley who were happily discussing their plans for shore leave on Starbase 93. Jean-Luc made a mental note to make sure that he made up the shore leave roster. That way he could insure that he and Deanna had shore leave together.

Lieutenant Paul Fisher walked in to Ten Forward and stopped dead as he saw Doctor Crusher sat at a table eating. He still couldn't believe how beautiful she was, or how idiotic he had been in Sickbay. He'd gawked like a lovesick teenager and then come out with a completely over the top compliment. No wonder she'd slapped him down. Looking at her, smiling and chatting with friends, Paul decided that he was going to ask her out, but first he needed to eradicate his horrible first impression. Scowling thoughtfully, he walked up to the bar and ordered a synthale. He sipped his drink slowly whilst he decided what to do. He had asked around about Beverley Crusher and had got sympathetic but amused responses. Most of the people that he'd spoken to completely understood his attraction to her but didn't think that he stood a chance with her. However, he had discovered that she was unattached so Paul was determined to try, he hadn't felt this attracted to someone since he'd met his wife twenty-five years ago. Sarah had died in a shuttlecraft accident and for a long time he hadn't wanted another relationship. That had been ten years ago and through counselling and the support of friends he had got through it. He'd got his career back on track and finally felt ready to get on with his life. Paul finished his synthale and looked over at Beverley Crusher again. She had finished eating and was sipping her drink. Gathering his courage, Paul stood and walked over to the table where she was sat. He was so focussed on her that it wasn't until he was only a few feet away from the table that he realised that she was sat with Counsellor Troi and the Captain. Palms sweating, he forced himself to continue until he was a couple of feet away from the table,

'Doctor?'

'Yes?'

'I just wanted to apologise for my rudeness in Sickbay the other day. And to introduce myself; I'm Paul Fisher.'

Paul found himself pinned by an icy blue stare and for a minute he thought that he'd blown it again but then her stare softened and she said,

'Beverley Crusher. Apology accepted.'

They shook hands and fire raced up Paul's arm. He could tell from Beverley's startled expression that she felt it too and he kept hold of her hand for a moment longer than necessary.

Forcing himself to release her hand before he qualified as 'creepy', Paul continued,

'I would offer to buy you a drink but since they're free I'd just look like an idiot.'

'True.'

There was a sparkle of humour in Beverley's eyes now which made her even more beautiful and Paul had to swallow hard before he could continue,

'But perhaps I could buy you a drink another time?'

'Perhaps.'

Beverley's reply was non-committal but she smiled as she said it. Paul was tempted to prolong their discussion but forced himself to remember his plan, a brief apology, a polite offer of a drink and then withdraw to gather more information. Accordingly, he said,

'Good night.'

'Good night.'

Paul left Ten Forward more determined than ever to convince Beverley to go out on a date with him.

Jean-Luc waited until the doors had closed behind Paul Fisher before saying,

'What happened in Sickbay?'

'He was struck dumb by Beverley's beauty,' replied Deanna.

'And he needed to apologise for this because?'

'Because he was in the middle of his assessment and Dean was asking him questions,' said Beverley, slightly defensively.

'And instead of taking pity on the poor man, you told him off, I assume?'

Beverley was about to answer hotly when she realised that Jean-Luc was teasing her so she said,

'Not to any great effect, judging by that.'

'No, he was determined to sound you out, wasn't he? He wasn't even put off by finding you sat by the Captain,' said Deanna thoughtfully.

'I assumed that he hadn't recognised me,' said Jean-Luc.

'He definitely recognised you, I felt the jolt of anxiety that went through him when he realised that it was you,' said Deanna.

'He did quite well then,' said Jean-Luc, slightly interrogatively, curious to see what Beverley and Deanna thought of Paul's technique.

'Above average,' said Beverley, still shaken by the wave of desire that she had felt when they shook hands.

'Well above average, I would have said,' said Deanna.

'Hmm, maybe.'

'Come on, Beverley. How many atrocious chat-up lines have been used on you? I've practically lost count of the number of times someone's said, 'Read my mind' to me.'

'Seriously? Men have actually used that line on you?' said Jean-Luc, making no attempt to hide his amazement.

'Not just men. And, 'Let me show you what I'm feeling?'. That's so irritating.'

'It must be,' said Jean-Luc.

'I hate it when men just can't be bothered to make an effort. They say something like, 'Get your coat, you've pulled,' when they haven't even talked to you and then are surprised when you tell them to get lost,' said Beverley.

'Yes, total objectification. It's such a turn off and yet they think that they're being funny.'

'Even lame chat-up lines are better than that. At least when someone says, 'Do you come here often?', they're trying to start a conversation even if they are hoping to get you into bed by the end of the evening.'

'And at least then they're treating you as a whole person, not just a body,' said Deanna.

'Yes and they've got a much better chance of succeeding too.'

'So, Jean-Luc, what chat-up lines do you use?' asked Deanna, curiously.

'Recently, none. When I was a young man I found, 'Has anyone ever told you that you have the most beautiful eyes?', worked fairly often.'

'Yes, that's a good one. Anything else?'

'Offering to buy someone a drink was often my starting point because if they turned you down, you knew that you were wasting your time.'

'Like Paul Fisher,' said Deanna.

'Yes. So will you let him buy you a drink sometime, Beverley?' asked Jean-Luc.

Beverley shrugged nonchalantly,

'Probably.'

Deanna smiled, inwardly delighted, it was time Beverley started dating again. Now all that she had to do was get Beverley past her fear.

An hour later, they went their separate ways. Deanna had some holodeck time booked so she went back to her quarters to get the things that she needed. She had originally intended to spend the time swimming and then having a massage but she was still feeling aroused from her empathic contact with Jean-Luc. Reinforcing her shields so that she wouldn't reach out to Jean-Luc by mistake, she took out one of her private programs and went to the holodeck.  
Activating the program she found herself in an opulent bedroom. Two men were lounging naked on an enormous bed. Both were extremely handsome and very masculine. As she walked towards the bed, the men rose and came to meet her,

'My Lady, may we serve you?'

'You may.'

The men very slowly started undressing her, taking it in turns to remove an item of clothing, kissing their way along her body as they did so. Once she was naked they spent some time kissing and caressing her, the caresses slowly getting firmer and more aggressive. After about ten minutes, they pulled her to the bed and got onto the bed with her, one on either side. The men took it in turns to kiss her whilst pinching her nipples and scratching her thighs. One of them moved down her body and began to use his hands and mouth to drive her wild. She climaxed and as she began to come down, he turned her over and entered her, pulling her hair in time with his thrusts. The other man continued to pinch and tug her nipples. Deanna felt her climax building as the men gave her exactly the right stimulation. However, the physical sensations were not enough and she hovered on the edge. Whimpering with arousal, Deanna closed her eyes and pretended that Jean-Luc was with her. Three seconds later, she climaxed.

In his quarters, Jean-Luc felt the touch of a familiar mind and then his mind was awash with ecstasy.

Deanna collapsed on the bed panting. As her breathing slowed she realised to her horror that she had done it again, her mind was linked to Jean-Luc's, even though she had consciously tried to avoid it. Swearing under her breath, she realised that she had to find out what was going on. Dressing and ending her program, she headed back to her quarters, contacted the Bridge and activated a comm channel. It was answered immediately,

'Deanna!'

'Hello, Mother. How are you?'

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	19. Chapter 19

Disclaimer: Star Trek is the property of Paramount. I own nothing.

Chapter Nineteen

Deanna closed the comm channel to her mother and sighed, she had been forced to be very assertive with her mother, which had not gone down well. Lwaxana had accepted the news that she and Jean-Luc were having no-strings sex with cynical amusement at first, merely asking if Jean-Luc was as good in bed as she'd always suspected. However, when Deanna had explained about their minds linking unexpectedly and asked her mother for the name of a Betazoid specialist in mind links, her mother had reacted badly, running the gamut from disbelief to anger and then to protectiveness. She had tried to persuade Deanna to come home to Betazed, convinced that Jean-Luc was going to use her and then leave her. Deanna's explanation that she had seduced Jean-Luc not vice versa had fallen on deaf ears and she'd had to threaten to cut all ties with her mother before Lwaxana would calm down enough to listen. In the end a compromise had been reached; Lwaxana would come to Starbase 93 to assure herself that Jean-Luc was treating Deanna properly but she would bring the foremost authority on Betazoid mind links with her. Deanna had also forced her mother to promise not to interfere in her relationship with Jean-Luc, which had made her mother furious, with some justification Deanna belatedly realised. After her disastrous intervention when she had been seeing Will as a young woman, Lwaxana had never interfered in one of her relationships again. She would have to apologise to her mother tomorrow but now she had to talk to Jean-Luc.

Deanna showered quickly, dressed in a casual loose-fitting outfit and walked to Jean-Luc's quarters. Taking a deep breath, she rang the chime and heard Jean-Luc's mellow voice saying,

'Enter.'

As she walked in to his quarters, Jean-Luc stood up from the sofa, saying,

'Deanna, come in. Sit down. Would you like a drink?'

'Thank you. Argellian tea, please.'

Jean-Luc went to the replicator and ordered her Argellian tea and Earl Grey for him. Deanna sat on the sofa and wondered where to start. Jean-Luc sat beside her and sipped his tea contemplatively for a few seconds then said,

'We linked again earlier, didn't we?'

'Yes but we shouldn't have,' Deanna forced herself to make eye contact with Jean-Luc before continuing, 'I'd reinforced my shields so that I wouldn't reach out to you.'

'But you did anyway.'

'Yes.'

'So what does that mean, except that we need to make sure that we're both on our own in our own quarters before we start to masturbate, that is?'

Deanna looked at him in horror,

'You were alone, weren't you?'

'Yes, I was here doing paperwork.'

'Thank goodness.'

'It was very surprising though.'

Deanna blushed,

'Sorry.'

'So, what's causing it? Has this happened to you with other lovers?'

'No, it's never happened to me before. Will and I were imzadi but we never linked like this.'

'Imzadi?'

'It's a link that can happen when two people, one of them Betazoid, are each others first love.'

'I see. Does it wear off over time? Is that why Will's been behaving so badly?'

'If imzadi marry and spend their lives together then the link strengthens and becomes permanent. Otherwise it gradually weakens and then disappears.'

'So, is the imzadi link between you and Will still active?' asked Jean-Luc hesitantly, not sure that he wanted to know the answer.

'No, but you can only have one imzadi and Will will always be mine. And I will always be his, which may partly be why he's behaving the way he is.'

'Which is why you haven't kicked him into touch.'

'Yes. After the way our relationship ended, I don't think we could ever be more than friends again but he'll always be my first love.'

'I understand. I'll never forget my first love either.'

Deanna smiled gratefully at Jean-Luc. She hadn't thought that he'd understand about imzadi but although he'd found it difficult he accepted it.

'And our link?' asked Jean-Luc.

'I don't know. There are other Betazoid links but I don't know much about them.'

'Oh?'

'Only full Betazoids can usually form the other links because they rely on telepathy.'

'I see. So you were never taught about them?'

'No, except for a bit when I was very young because it was thought that I might be a full telepath as an adult.'

'I thought that all half-Betazoid, half-humans were empaths?'

'They are but mother is such a strong telepath that it was thought that I might be an exception.'

'But you're not.'

'No and when my empathic abilities developed without telepathy, the focus of my lessons switched.'

'Naturally enough. So, where does that leave us?'

'We need expert help, so I contacted my mother and she's bringing Telna, an expert on Betazoid links, to meet us at Starbase 93.'

'Your mother's coming? Does she know about us?'

'Yes.'

Jean-Luc flinched inwardly, wondering if he was going to meet Lwaxana in full protective mode. Deanna sensed his anxiety and said,

'She won't interfere. And it is a long time since I've seen her.'

'Deanna, your mother is always welcome on board the Enterprise,' said Jean-Luc, firmly suppressing his misgivings. If Lwaxana wanted to interrogate him she had every right; he'd just have to take it on the chin.

'Thank you,' said Deanna, smiling.

Jean-Luc watched Deanna's face light up as she smiled and was suddenly intensely aware of her vibrant feminine beauty. He reached a hand towards her and then dropped it, remembering that they were on board ship so he wasn't allowed to touch her.

Deanna felt the surge of admiration and desire that swept through Jean-Luc and it took every single ounce of her self-control not to reach out to him in return. Instead she said,

'We'll know more soon, I hope.'

'Good. When will they get to Starbase 93?'

'About sixteen hours after we arrive as long as Telna can leave Betazed tomorrow.'

'Keep me updated.'

'I will.'

Deanna said goodbye and left. Jean-Luc took his tea to his desk and asked the computer to find any information it had on Betazoid mind links. An hour later he finished reading with a sense of dissatisfaction; only general information was available and none of it seemed to apply to him and Deanna.

Jean-Luc shrugged, at least knowing that Lwaxana was coming made it easier for him to do the shore leave roster. He had already assigned Deanna shore leave for the whole of their stay, at Beverley's recommendation and he would assign himself four days leave at the end of their scheduled stop. Hopefully, Lwaxana would have gone by then.

Deanna had given Beverley's reaction to counselling a great deal of thought and had decided to completely change her strategy. Accordingly, the next day, she booked the holodeck for two hours and told Beverley to join her there.

She had chosen a Betazoid countryside setting and when Beverley arrived they started strolling across rolling fields full of wildflowers. Her mother had sent Deanna the program, hoping to make her homesick, but Deanna found it too blandly perfect and usually avoided using it. However, it was perfect for what she had in mind today.

She waited until they'd been walking for a few minutes before saying to Beverley,

'Tell me about your grandmother.'

'Nana? What did you want to know?'

'What was she like? You've told me that she was a talented healer but was she like you in other ways?'

'I get my temper from her. She had better self-control than I do, though.'

Deanna gently asked more questions about Beverley's grandmother and then held Beverley when she cried.

Afterwards they sat amongst the flowers and Deanna asked her how she felt about Ronin now.

'I still feel betrayed. He said he loved me but he just wanted a willing host.'

'Yes but he may have loved you anyway.'

'At the time I was sure that he did. I've never felt cherished like that. But then he attacked Jean-Luc and I realised that he couldn't truly love me because if he had, he would have welcomed Jean-Luc's concern.'

'He was afraid Jean-Luc would find out the truth.'

'With good reason.'

'Yes.'

Beverley pulled a flower towards her and fiddled with it for a couple of minutes before continuing,

'When Jean-Luc first questioned my decision to leave Starfleet and settle on Caldos, I was sure that he was just jealous of Ronin and I and Ronin encouraged me to believe it.'

'I don't suppose Ronin understood how important your Starfleet career was to you.'

'No, he just saw the danger. He was terrified that I would be killed. He worked on my fear of losing the people I love and then consolidated his position by promising never to leave me.'

'He never would have done if the lamp hadn't been destroyed. He didn't want to leave you, ever.'

'But he did want to control me. He got me to leave my friends so that he could isolate me in order to gain complete control of me.'

'Yes, but he was probably worried that we would realise that you were under an alien influence.'

'You're right. He really, really didn't like me being around you. He must have been worried that you'd sense him.'

'You _were_ different but you were grieving and you'd just made a life changing decision so I expected you to be different. People tend to think that my empathy is much more precise than it is. Ironically, it was your decision to leave Starfleet that convinced me that something was seriously wrong. If Ronin had got you to apply for leave of absence to deal with your grandmother's affairs we might not have realised that anything was wrong until it was too late. As it was, when the Captain asked for my opinion on your decision to resign, I told him that I felt that it was out of character, which prompted him to go down to Caldos and confront you.'

'If he hadn't I would probably still be on Caldos now, completely in Ronin's thrall.'

'Perhaps.'

'There's no perhaps about it. If Jean-Luc hadn't made me realise what Ronin was like, I would have fallen deeper and deeper under his spell.'

Beverley's voice was bitter and self-mocking but underneath Deanna could feel the pain and guilt that Beverley still felt.

'Beverley, he was stimulating the pleasure centres of your brain directly. No one could have resisted that.'

'Couldn't they?'

'Beverley, when you were treated in Sickbay afterwards, Selar found that your endorphin levels were so high that the computer refused to accept them as a valid result. Ronin kept you high and used intense sexual stimuli to get you to bond to him. It was not your fault.'

'So why do I still feel guilty?'

'Because he gave you amazing pleasure. I assume the orgasms were amazing?'

'Yes…better than anything I'd ever experienced.'

'Do you still dream about him?'

'Not as often as I used to.'

'Are the dreams enjoyable?'

'Yes…and then I feel guilty when I wake up.'

'Why do you feel guilty?'

'Because part of me misses him,' whispered Beverley.

'It's all right to miss him. You still miss Jack sometimes, don't you?'

'Yes but that's different. I shouldn't miss Ronin!'

'Why not? Because he turned out to be a bad person?'

'Yes.'

'Beverley, you know emotions don't work like that. Yes, Ronin was using and controlling you but in return he gave you unconditional love and enormous physical pleasure. Of course you miss the positive aspects of your relationship with him.'

'I know you're right but it still bothers me.'

'Everyone is bothered by the mistakes they make. It's part of being a sentient being. It was one of the things that convinced me that Data wasn't just a clever machine; he worries about the mistakes he makes.'

Beverley smiled and Deanna felt Beverley's emotions lighten as she released some of the guilt that she was feeling.

Deanna had a moment to realise that Beverley was suddenly feeling mischievous then Beverley said,

'So who's better in bed? Will, Worf or Jean-Luc?'

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	20. Chapter 20

Disclaimer: Star Trek is the property of Paramount. I own nothing.

Author's note: Telepathic communication is shown using *.

Chapter Twenty

Deanna stared at Beverley in disbelief for a moment then dissolved into peals of laughter,

'You are so awful! Even my mother wouldn't ask me that.'

Beverley smiled smugly, delighted to have shocked her normally unshockable friend. She waited for Deanna to stop laughing then said,

'So?'

'So, you don't really think I'm going to answer that, do you?'

'Why not? You've told me about all your other lovers.'

'True but you don't work with my other lovers.'

'I don't at the moment but there are several that I might work with in the future. The way people move around in Starfleet, any one of them could end up on the Enterprise at any time.'

'Well, yes, but that's different. You work with Will, Worf and Jean-Luc now.'

'So? Why does that make a difference? Or are you afraid that I'll lose my respect for them? I'm surprised any of them are that bad in bed.'

'They're not. They were all very good and very different,' said Deanna with an air of finality.

'Different? In what way?'

'If you can't figure that out for yourself, I'm not telling you,' said Deanna repressively.

'Well, let's see. Will was quite young when you had your affair with him, so I'm going to guess that he was eager and inexperienced but with good stamina. Probably keen to learn. Worf, hmm, I imagine that he's got amazing stamina. Probably not wildly experimental though, he'd be too worried about hurting you. Jean-Luc, well he's got the advantage of plenty of experience and he doesn't have an ounce of xenophobia in his psyche so I imagine your differences excited him rather than anything else. Not sure about his stamina but his testosterone levels have always been very high so he's probably got a high sex drive for a man of his age.'

Deanna smiled blandly at Beverley, being careful not to let her expression waver as Beverley analysed each of the men. Inwardly she was amused by how much Beverley had got right, though Will had not been that inexperienced when they met and Jean-Luc had had no problems with stamina whilst they were on Ydea. However, Deanna had no intention of letting Beverley know how close to the truth she'd come, so when Beverley said,

'How did I do?'

Deanna just smiled and said,

'Why don't you have sex with each of them and find out?'

'Yeah, like that's going to happen. Though it would be amusing to see the look on Will's face if I propositioned him.'

Deanna giggled,

'He'd be sure it was a test of some sort.'

'Or that I was ill.'

'Yes, he wouldn't know whether to take you to bed or to Sickbay.'

'That would be so funny.'

Deanna and Beverley smiled at each other, sharing an image of Will, half eager, half wary. Deanna was about to ask her about Odan when the computer chimed, signalling that their session was about to end, so instead she asked,

'Do you want to walk for the last ten minutes?'

Beverley nodded and they walked through the perfect Betazoid landscape, chatting idly about the facilities available at Starbase 93.

Once they'd completed the docking formalities at Starbase 93, Jean-Luc handed over the bridge to Data, saying,

'Log me as off duty, please, Mister Data.'

'Aye, Captain.'

'I'm going onto the base for a few hours. Commander Riker is on leave, so you're in charge.'

'Yes, Sir. When will you be back?'

'In time for alpha shift tomorrow.'

'Aye, Sir.'

Jean-Luc went to his quarters to change out of his uniform and then made his way to the docking tunnel and on to the starbase.

He had given his and Deanna's situation some thought and had decided that he needed to take action. Accordingly, he had asked Deanna to have dinner with him tonight at one of the base's hotels. She had agreed and had suggested that they eat in her room so that they didn't have to try to dodge off duty Enterprise crewmembers.  
Deanna had sent him her room details and so he went directly to her room. The door opened to his palm print and he found himself in the lounge area of a small suite. As he closed the door, Deanna came out of the bedroom and he lost the ability to think. She was wearing a white bathrobe, loosely belted at the waist. As she walked towards him, the belt loosened allowing Jean-Luc a tantalising glimpse of her voluptuous body. He reacted without conscious thought, pulling her into his arms and kissing her. She melted against him and he lost track of time as he ran his hands through her hair and down her back, kissing her again and again. Deanna relaxed her shields slightly and reached out to his mind, feeling their empathic link forming effortlessly. His desire washed through her mind and she groaned as it combined with her own, sending her spiralling upwards. Deanna reached for the hem of Jean-Luc's shirt, pulling it up so she could caress his chest, lightly pinching his nipples. He moved from her lips to her neck, kissing and sucking gently, making his way to the spot beneath her chin.

*Oh, Deanna. We've arrived. *

Her mother's voice in her mind acted like a powerful stimulant, ripping through her brain, completely confusing and disorientating Deanna. She pushed Jean-Luc away, reeled towards the sofa and sat gracelessly, pressing her hands to her eyes.

*Deanna? *

Unable to cope with the overload, Deanna projected as forcefully as she could,

*Mother, get out of my mind! *

She sensed a moment of hurt disbelief and then her mother was gone.

After a moment, Jean-Luc sat beside her and took her hand, saying, anxiously,

'Deanna, are you all right?'

Deanna blinked at Jean-Luc, trying to speak but unable to form a coherent sentence. Seriously worried now, Jean-Luc said,

'Are you being attacked?'

Deanna shook her head, desperately trying to regain control of her brain.

Jean-Luc went to the replicator, got a glass of water and handed it to her and then waited. Deanna sipped the water and shakily re-established her shields. After a couple of minutes she said,

'It was my mother. She contacted me to tell me she's here. I was wide open because of our link and I overloaded.'

'Overloaded?'

'The two stimuli together were too much and my brain produced too many neurotransmitters. Only for a few seconds but it was enough to make me feel completely disorientated.'

'Do you need me to leave?'

'No but I can't link with you at the moment.'

'Understood. Do you need to go to Sickbay?'

'I may have to but I need to talk to my mother first.'

'Couldn't she meet us in Sickbay?'

'She could but she'll be beside herself with worry if you tell her I'm in Sickbay.'

'Couldn't you contact her telepathically to reassure her?'

'I can only reach my mother over short distances unless she contacts me first. Besides I may be fine in a few minutes.'

Jean-Luc didn't think that was likely but Lwaxana was likely to be quite difficult enough as it was, without Deanna greeting her from Sickbay and Deanna was talking normally again and some of the colour had returned to her face, so he decided that it could wait.

'Did you say that your mother is here?'

'Yes.'

'But I thought she couldn't get here until tomorrow?'

'So did I. She probably bullied some poor captain into breaking the warp speed barrier.'

Jean-Luc smiled at Deanna's wry assessment. Lwaxana was a force of nature and he could imagine how assertive she would have been if she thought Deanna needed her.

'How long do you think it will be before she gets here?'

'I don't know. Why?'

'I was hoping that we could talk this evening.'

'You came here to talk?' said Deanna, quizzically.

'I had intended that we would have dinner, talk and then make love,' said Jean-Luc, trying not to respond to Deanna's amused smile.

'So what went wrong?'

'What went wrong? Well, a beautiful woman opened the door wearing practically nothing so I decided to alter the order.'

Deanna smiled happily at the compliment, basking in the relaxed warmth that she sensed from him.

'So, what did you want to talk about?'

'Us. I wanted to know what you want. And I wanted to ask before the Betazoid expert arrived.'

'How do you mean, what do I want?' asked Deanna hesitantly.

'I mean, do you want to have a full relationship or would you rather keep it as a Friendly Fire agreement?'

'You do realise that what we want may turn our to be irrelevant? If it's one of the permanent bonds, then we'll have no choice.'

'Yes, I know. That's why I wanted to talk to you…because I would like to start a full relationship, regardless of what Telna says, and I didn't want you to think that I was merely bowing to circumstances beyond my control.'

'Oh.'

Jean-Luc forced himself to wait patiently as Deanna thought about what he'd said. Eventually, she said,

'I don't know what I want. I've been trying to decide what to do for weeks now. Half of me wants to fling myself into your arms but the other half of me keeps thinking up reasons why a full relationship would be a bad idea.'

'There are a lot of reasons why it would be a bad idea,' agreed Jean-Luc, 'You're under my command, I'm obsessive about my job and I have a terrible track record with women to name but a few. I have thought about them and about some of the issues that affect you, Will, Worf, the fact that you know almost everything about me and the age gap between us, but in the end I decided that they aren't important if we want to be together.'

'Do you really think we could manage it?'

'Yes. It will be difficult sometimes but we're used to being honest with each other, which will help.'

'All right. Yes.'

Jean-Luc reached out and pulled Deanna gently into his arms, horrified to discover that she was trembling. Deanna wrapped herself around him, burying herself in his warmth and strength. As they held each other, the knot in Deanna's brain slowly unravelled itself, she stopped shaking and fell asleep. Jean-Luc shifted slightly so that Deanna's head was in a comfortable position and settled down to wait for Lwaxana to arrive.

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	21. Chapter 21

Disclaimer: Star Trek is the property of Paramount. I own nothing.

Author's note: Telepathic communication is shown using *.

Chapter Twenty-One

Jean-Luc reluctantly decided that if he was going to move Deanna, he needed to do it now as his legs were starting to go to sleep. He tightened his arms around her and began to shift their weight forwards, towards the edge of the sofa, intending to move her to the bedroom. Deanna stirred in her sleep, moving closer to him and Jean-Luc realised that he was not going to be able to get up without moving her to another position, which would almost certainly wake her. Shrugging, he decided that numb legs was a small price to pay for holding a beautiful woman in his arms anyway. Particularly since she had agreed to throw her lot in with him, despite the problems it was likely to cause her. He might get some criticism for sleeping with a member of his crew but since she was not on the command team, his career was not at risk, whereas Deanna's might be. There would be people who would say that she was having sex with him in order to further her career and would suggest that that was how she'd got promoted in the past, despite the fact that he had never sat on any of her Promotion Boards. Deanna was already a full commander and might not want the increase in administrative responsibilities that would come with any further promotion but he didn't want their relationship to stop her if she did. He would have to see what could be done to prevent or at least limit any damage. Jean-Luc rested his cheek against Deanna's and started thinking about who owed him favours.

Telna followed Lwaxana as she walked through the shopping area of Starbase 93 at breakneck speed. Lwaxana had her shields fully up and was refusing to answer Telna's queries but it was clear that something was wrong. One minute she'd been flirting outrageously with the captain of their passenger ship, the next she'd gone into full ambassador mode, using her credentials to disembark first and commandeering the nearest lift. Lwaxana was always flamboyant but she would never normally use her ambassadorial status to get priority for private matters. The only thing Telna could imagine that would cause such a breach of protocol was concern for her daughter. Lwaxana had said that she would contact Deanna when they arrived, clearly something had happened during that contact to make Lwaxana worried. Telna stopped thinking and concentrated on breathing as Lwaxana increased speed again, hurtling down corridors at a reckless speed, simply assuming that everyone would get out of her way.  
A few minutes later they arrived at the hotel where Deanna was staying. Lwaxana ignored the receptionist and went straight to the lift, telling the lift their destination straight away, without checking that the rest of her party were on board. Telna used the brief turbolift journey to get her breath back, impressed and slightly envious that Lwaxana who was only five years her junior was only slightly out of breath. The lift stopped on the correct floor and they followed the hotel's guide lights to Deanna's door. Once there, Telna was surprised to see Lwaxana press the door chime rather than simply announce their presence telepathically. A male voice said,

'Enter.'

Telna followed Lwaxana and Mr Homm into the room.

Deanna stirred at the sound of the chime but didn't wake. A few seconds later, Jean-Luc looked up into Lwaxana's worried face, realising with some surprise that she had come in quietly, not calling out theatrically, as she normally would have done. Deanna stirred again and Lwaxana asked anxiously,

'Is she all right?'

'I'm not sure,' replied Jean-Luc, 'She said that her neurotransmitters overloaded for a few seconds. I wanted to take her to Sickbay but she wanted to wait for you.'

The sound of their voices woke Deanna and she looked round, bewildered,

'Mother?'

'I'm here, Deanna.'

Lwaxana sat down on the sofa and began to stroke Deanna's hair. Deanna rubbed her eyes and tried to collect her thoughts but her brain seemed to be operating through a blanket of exhaustion. Blearily she thought,

*Beverley's going to be furious with me. *

'Why is Beverley going to be furious with you?' asked Lwaxana.

Deanna looked blankly at her mother, who said,

'Deanna, your shields are down. You projected that so clearly that I expect Telna and Mister Homm heard it too.'

'I didn't,' said Telna quietly, but noticed Mr Homm's soundless nod with interest. Members of the Fifth House always had strong gifts and it seemed that Deanna was no exception. Mr Homm was not a family member but Deanna clearly could communicate telepathically with him, which should have been impossible. It looked as though her trip was going to be even more interesting than she'd thought.

'I think you should go to Sickbay,' said Jean-Luc, concerned.

Deanna grimaced,

'I'm sure I'll be all right if I get some more rest.'

*I don't want to. *

'Deanna, Jean-Luc's right; a neurotransmitter overload normally needs medical treatment,' said Lwaxana.

'Fine,' said Deanna, shortly. She knew that they were right but she'd been looking forward to exploring Starbase 93, which had some of the best leisure facilities outside of sector zero.

She pushed herself away from Jean-Luc and stood up, only to find her knees shaking. Jean-Luc noticed her starting to wobble and said,

'Sit down. I'll contact the ship and have you beamed to Sickbay.'

Deanna sat down and let her mind go blank as Jean-Luc took his communicator out of his pocket and started talking.

Beverley was just finishing handing over to Selar when her communicator chirped and she heard Data's voice saying,

'Bridge to Doctor Crusher.'

'Crusher here.'

'Counsellor Troi is in need of medical attention. She is being beamed to Sickbay now.'

'Acknowledged,' said Beverley, all thoughts of an evening at the theatre vanishing from her mind.

Deanna materialised on one of the bio beds and Beverley hurried to her side, saying,

'Computer, adjust settings on bio bed one for Commander Deanna Troi.'

The readings on the bio bed showed no physical injury but Deanna's blood pressure was low and she looked pale and exhausted.

'Deanna, what happened?'

'I had a neurotransmitter overload. I'm fine but Jean-Luc and my mother insisted that I come to Sickbay.'

Beverley started putting the neural scanner in place, saying,

'How did it happen?'

'My mother contacted me telepathically whilst Jean-Luc and I were empathically linked.'

'And that caused the overload?'

'Yes.'

'Hmm. Lie completely still please.'

Deanna lay quietly whilst Beverley took a series of brain scans. Beverley removed the neural scanner, saying,

'I need to analyse these results but it was definitely a neural overload of some sort. I'm going to take some blood so I can see how depleted your gnaea levels are.'

Gnaea was a specialised enzyme used by the Betazoid brain in emergencies to prevent damage and dampen overloads. It was stored in a small duct at the base of the skull positioned so that enzyme-laden blood would reach the brain quickly.  
Deanna grimaced, if her gnaea levels were low she would have to have a synthetic replacement, which not only made her feel nauseous but required careful monitoring, so she would have to remain in Sickbay. Beverley was about to take the scans into her office when the doors to Sickbay opened and Jean-Luc, Lwaxana, Mr Homm and a woman Beverley didn't recognise came in. Lwaxana immediately pounced on Beverley, saying,

'Is Deanna going to be all right?'

'Yes though she may need to stay in Sickbay for a couple of days.'

'That's such a shame. I was so looking forward to going shopping with her. You positively must have some new clothes, Deanna. There are some fabulous styles around at the moment.'

'We can go shopping when I'm better, Mother.'

'Good. When will Deanna be discharged from Sickbay, Doctor?'

'I won't know until I've analysed her test results. What was your perception of what happened?'

'I contacted Deanna to let her know that we'd arrived. She didn't respond at first and then she asked me, quite emphatically, to end the telepathic contact.'

'And you didn't feel any adverse affects?'

'No. At first I thought that I'd just interrupted her during sex but then I realised that she would just have asked me to contact her later if that was all it was, so I began to wonder if something was wrong.'

'Jean-Luc?'

Jean-Luc squirmed but forced himself to answer, knowing that Beverley was asking for medical reasons, not out of prurient curiosity,

'Deanna and I were kissing when she suddenly pushed me away and collapsed on the sofa. I felt the empathic link break and Deanna was clearly incapacitated. I got her some water and a couple of minutes later, she was able to speak again and explain what had happened.'

'Deanna was unable to speak?'

'Just for a couple of minutes, yes. It's why I insisted that she come to Sickbay.'

'Good. And how do you feel, Jean-Luc?'

'Fine.'

'But you felt the empathic link break?'

'Yes.'

Beverley turned to Deanna and said,

'Is that normal?'

'I don't know. I've never had to break a link abruptly like that before.'

'I'm sorry, Deanna,' said Lwaxana, 'but I never expected you to be in bed with Jean-Luc when I was about to arrive.'

'Lwaxana, you're a day early. Believe me, we would never have started making love if we'd known that you might interrupt us.'

Jean-Luc's response was heartfelt and Beverley had to suppress a snigger, she could imagine nothing that Jean-Luc would hate more than being interrupted by Lwaxana.

'Oh yes, I forgot. Captain Eiger, such a dear, sweet man, was determined to show off and insisted on seeing how much time he could shave off the trip.'

'He did well to cut a whole day off the trip from Betazed, I wonder how many regulations he broke?' said Jean-Luc thoughtfully.

'Really, Jean-Luc, what does that matter?' said Lwaxana dismissively.

Beverley intervened before Jean-Luc could reply,

'Jean-Luc you need to have a brain scan too.'

'I hardly think that's necessary, Doctor, I'm fine.'

'I'll be the judge of that, Captain. Doctor Selar, please would you do full blood work-ups for both Deanna and Jean-Luc.'

'Yes, Doctor Crusher.'

Beverley glared at Jean-Luc until he reluctantly climbed on to one of the other bio beds, muttering under his breath in French as he did so. Selar collected the blood samples and disappeared into the lab whilst Beverley assembled the neural scanner over Jean-Luc's head.

A few minutes later, Beverley went into her office and started analysing the scans.

Jean-Luc stared at the ceiling and tried to suppress his mounting irritation as he waited for Beverley to come back. He was practically psi nil so the idea that his brain had been affected by the abrupt ending of his link with Deanna was ridiculous. Beverley was just being over-cautious again. Or she was punishing him for something, letting Deanna get hurt probably. At least Lwaxana had left. Deanna had convinced her to go and have dinner. She would come back later but at least Sickbay was quiet for now. He sat up hopefully as Beverley came out of her office and stood between the two bio beds. He had a moment to register that she was upset before she said,

'Would one of you like to explain what's going on?'

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	22. Chapter 22

Disclaimer: Star Trek is the property of Paramount. I own nothing.

Chapter Twenty-Two

Jean-Luc stared blankly at Beverley, trying to work out what she was asking. Confused, he said,

'What do you mean, what's going on?'

'I mean, between you two. Your brain shows a marked increase in neural density in your psi centres, Jean-Luc.'

'It does?'

'Yes, Jean-Luc, it does. And Deanna's brain seems to have developed new connections too although it could just be natural brain development in her case. So, what's going on and why didn't you tell me about it?'

Jean-Luc tried to think of a way to describe what had happened that didn't involve telling Beverley about his masturbation habits and failed. Wishing that he were anywhere else, he cleared his throat uncomfortably,

'Um…'

Lying on the other bio bed, Deanna decided that it was time she took control, if only to stop Beverley's hurt and anger and Jean-Luc's embarrassment from rasping painfully across her mind so she said,

'We don't know what's going on, Beverley. That's why Telna's here.'

'Telna?'

'The woman with Mother. We've been experiencing some odd effects so I contacted Mother and asked her to bring a Betazoid expert to see us.'

'What sort of odd effects?'

'We've been feeling each other's emotions.'

'What? All the time?'

'No, just at certain times.'

'When you're feeling particularly strong emotions?'

'Sometimes but mostly it's when one of us is feeling sexually aroused.'

'When one of you is feeling sexually aroused? You mean when you're masturbating?'

'Yes.'

'Let me get this straight, if one of you starts to masturbate, the other one feels aroused too?'

'Yes.'

Beverley looked from Deanna to Jean-Luc and started laughing, gasping out between peals of laughter,

'It's just as well neither of you have had time to indulge in any daytime masturbation, isn't it?'

Deanna stared at her for a second and then started laughing too and after a moment Jean-Luc joined in too.

After a few minutes, Beverley stopped laughing and asked,

'How long has this been happening?'

'I'm not sure,' said Deanna, 'At first I thought that I was being careless and reaching out to Jean-Luc but then it kept happening, even when I had my shields fully raised.'

'It's just since Ydea, I take it?'

'Yes, the first time I was aware of it was a few days after we returned.'

'A few days after we returned?' queried Jean-Luc, startled. He had assumed that it had only been in the last two or three weeks but he was obviously wrong. Though thinking about it he had felt unusually content a couple of times, perhaps that had been it.

'Yes but I just assumed that I had slipped up and reached out towards you. I only became certain that it wasn't that a few days ago.'

'Oh?' said Beverley encouragingly.

'I decided to use the holodeck program my mother sent me, the one I told you about. It was early evening so I made sure that my shields were as strong as possible before running the program but I still linked with Jean-Luc at the end.'

'So, then you contacted your mother?'

'Yes because I have no idea what it is, what the implications are or what it might turn into, if anything.'

'So that's why you didn't tell me about it?'

'Yes, I was going to tell you once we'd talked to Telna. Telling you, 'I think something might be going on but it might just be my imagination,' seemed fairly pointless.'

Deanna relaxed as Beverley hurt finished dissolving. The anger had gone earlier when Beverley had started laughing but the hurt had remained. Relieved, Deanna realised that Beverley had thought that they didn't trust her enough to tell her about it, her pride had been hurt not anything else. Looking at Beverley, she noticed how weary she was looking and remembered that she was supposed to be on leave,

'Beverley, I just need to rest, don't I?'

'Yes unless your gnaea levels are too low. Why?'

'It's still early, why don't you go to the theatre as you planned?'

'Well…'

'Selar will look after us and you'll only be a transporter beam away.'

'I don't know…' said Beverley, clearly tempted.

'Doctor,' said Jean-Luc firmly, 'you have assured me on many occasions that your staff are highly competent so go to the theatre and let them do their jobs.'

'Is that an order, Captain?'

Beverley tried to sound annoyed but she was so tired that it came out sounding more like a request.

'It is, Doctor. Go and have fun, Beverley, you've earned it.'

'All right, Captain. I'll go as long as you promise to stay in Sickbay overnight for observation.'

'Is that really necessary?'

'Yes, Jean-Luc, it is. Since we have no idea what we're dealing with here, you need to be monitored.'

Jean-Luc glowered at Beverley, but eventually conceded defeat. She might be being over-cautious but he couldn't fault her logic. At least this way he could keep an eye on Deanna without getting on Selar's nerves.

'I'll just see if Selar has got your blood test results,' said Beverley disappearing into the lab. Jean-Luc turned to Deanna and said,

'How are you feeling now?'

'Better, just very tired.'

'Good.'

'How are you feeling?'

'Fine.'

'You're not feeling any ill effects at all?'

'I feel a bit tired but that's just the adrenaline leaving my system.'

'So you had a surge of adrenaline when the link broke?'

'Not immediately, it was when I thought that you were being attacked,' said Jean-Luc remembering the blind terror that he'd felt when she'd been struggling to speak and he'd thought that someone was trying to take over her mind.

'I see,' said Deanna, feeling the wave of protectiveness from Jean-Luc roll over her like a warm blanket.

Beverley and Selar came out of the lab and walked over to Deanna and Jean-Luc. Beverley consulted the data padd in her hand and said,

'Your bloods are fine. Deanna, your gnaea levels are at eighty percent of normal so you won't need to be given any supplements. Jean-Luc, your results are all normal though your blood sugar's a bit low.'

'We haven't had dinner.'

'Selar will get you something. I'm going to take your advice and start my leave. I'll see you in a few days.'

'Have fun,' said Jean-Luc.

'I'll comm you once Mother's gone and we'll go to the spa,' said Deanna.

'Sounds good.'

Beverley said goodbye and left.

An hour later Jean-Luc finished the nutritious meal provided by Selar and wondered what he was going to do for the rest of the evening. Deanna had fallen asleep immediately after eating so talking to her about their brain scans would have to wait. Resigned, Jean-Luc used the bedside computer to access his files and started working.

He was half way through Geordi's weekly Engineering report when the doors to Sickbay opened and Lwaxana came in carrying an enormous bouquet of flowers. Alyssa Ogawa deftly intercepted her, taking the flowers and drawing her attention to Deanna's sleeping form. Lwaxana went and stood by Deanna's bed, her face softening as she looked down at Deanna.

After a couple of minutes Lwaxana went into Selar's office and Jean-Luc almost immediately heard her saying,

'But I'm her mother!'

Jean-Luc got off the bio bed and went into Selar's office, closing the door behind him. As he entered, Selar was saying,

'Both Federation law and Starfleet regulations prevent me from giving you details of Deanna's medical records.'

'But that's ridiculous, I'm her next of kin.'

'Yes and if her condition were life threatening, then I would be able to give you a limited amount of information. As it is, all I am permitted to tell you is that Deanna's condition is good and, all being well, we expect to discharge her from Sickbay sometime tomorrow.'

Frustrated, Lwaxana turned to Jean-Luc, saying,

'Jean-Luc, can you tell me how Deanna is?'

'She's fine, Lwaxana. She had dinner and then fell asleep.'

'Yes, I know that. I want to know what her brain scans showed.'

'I don't know. And I'm not going to ask Doctor Selar to show me either. Deanna is an adult. Neither of us has the right to ask to see her medical records in a situation like this.'

'But she was so weak. Are you sure there's no brain damage?'

'Deanna is expected to make a full recovery. However, it is important that she has no telepathic or empathic contact for at least twelve hours so please keep your shields raised at all times,' replied Selar.

'Yes, Doctor. You're sure there's nothing else you can tell me?'

Selar looked at Lwaxana compassionately. All the Sickbay staff knew about Deanna's sometimes stormy relationship with her mother but they also knew that Lwaxana's over-protectiveness stemmed from her fear of losing Deanna. Gently, she said,

'If you leave me your comm code, I will contact you immediately should there be a need.'

Lwaxana gave Selar details of her hotel then turned to Jean-Luc and said,

'So why are you still here? Shouldn't you be on the Bridge?'

'Beverley insisted that I stay in overnight for observation.'

'But you're not actually injured?'

'No, I'm fine. Beverley tends to be over-cautious.'

'Good. Doctor Selar, if we stayed on the ship, would it be all right if the Captain and I took a walk?'

Cursing himself for encouraging Beverley to go to the theatre, Jean-Luc gave Selar a pleading look, which she returned with one of blank incomprehension, saying,

'A short walk should present no health risk.'

'Excellent. We'll be back soon. Come along, Jean-Luc, we've got such a lot to catch up on.'

Lwaxana walked gaily out of Sickbay, waving cheerily at Alyssa Ogawa. Jean-Luc reluctantly followed.

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	23. Chapter 23

Disclaimer: Star Trek is the property of Paramount. I own nothing.

Chapter Twenty-Three

Jean-Luc followed Lwaxana out of Sickbay, waiting until the doors had closed behind him before saying,

'Where would you like to go?'

'Well I am feeling quite exhausted. Could we go somewhere quiet? Being around large groups of people all the time can be very tiring. People think so loudly sometimes.'

Jean-Luc paused for a moment to think about the orientation of the ship with regards to the starbase, then said,

'The main observation deck is oriented towards the starbase but if we go to the Briefing Room we should have a good view of the star field. There shouldn't be anyone there at this time of night.'

'That sounds perfect.'

Lwaxana followed Jean-Luc into the turbolift and waited until he had given their destination, then said,

'How are you, Jean-Luc?'

'I'm fine, thank you.'

'Good. Are you taking any leave here?'

'Yes, I've got four days booked, starting in a few days time.'

'Have you decided what you're going to do?'

'Not really,' said Jean-Luc, reluctant to admit to Lwaxana that his main aim was to spend time worshipping Deanna's body, 'What are your plans?'

'I'm hoping to spend some time at the spa here. They have four hundred different areas spread over sixteen levels, you know.'

'Really? I didn't realise it was that extensive. No wonder Beverley and Deanna are intending to spend a day there.'

'What about you? Would you ever spend time in a spa?'

Amused and slightly relieved that the questioning had begun, Jean-Luc replied,

'I have done in the past. It would depend what was on offer.'

Unbidden, an image of Deanna lying naked on a towel flashed through his mind and Jean-Luc cursed inwardly, knowing that with Lwaxana's abilities there was no way that she wouldn't have caught that. Fortunately, Lwaxana seemed amused rather than offended and he remembered Beverley's comment about how open Betazoid's were about sex. Forcing himself to stay calm, Jean-Luc said,

'You said that you were going to look for some new clothes too. For anything in particular?'

'Well, I have got another diplomatic mission coming up. The Federation Council have asked me to go to Tevny, to help with the trade negotiations.'

'When do you leave?'

'In five days. That's why I was so delighted to get here early, I thought I'd have an extra day with Deanna.'

'Deanna will be out of Sickbay tomorrow and there's no reason that you can't spend a couple of hours with her tomorrow morning.'

'Do you really think she'll be out tomorrow?'

'Well, Beverley seemed to think so and she's rarely mistaken. Why?'

'For a full Betazoid, a neurological overload would require at least a week in hospital.'

'Really? I'd be surprised if Beverley was that far out. Deanna's had overloads before and recovered quickly.'

'Has she? She doesn't tell me.'

'She probably doesn't want to worry you.'

'And doesn't want me nagging her to leave Starfleet and come home to Betazed.'

'Yes,' said Jean-Luc, knowing that there was no point trying to lie to Lwaxana.

'I just don't understand why she won't come home. She could be a counsellor just as easily on Betazed.'

'She could but it wouldn't make her happy.'

'Why not?'

'Because she's an explorer, like her father and like you, Lwaxana.'

'Me? I'm not an explorer, Jean-Luc.'

'Lwaxana, how long have you spent on Betazed in the last year?'

'Well, I was there for Spring Festival and again for Karba'ye. You must come to Karba'ye sometime, Jean-Luc, it's quite beautiful.'

'I'm sure it is. However, the point that I was trying to make is that Deanna gets her wanderlust from you as well as her father.'

'Nonsense. I travel because I'm the Betazoid ambassador to the Federation, not for any other reason.'

'Forgive me if I'm wrong, but didn't you volunteer for the post?'

'Yes but somebody had to do it and the other candidates were frankly hopeless, either in it for political power alone or so mild-mannered that they'd have given Betazed away to the first person to shout at them.'

Jean-Luc firmly suppressed his amusement at Lwaxana's interpretation of the events leading to her selection. According to Deanna it had been a political bloodbath of epic proportions from which her mother had emerged not only victorious but with her reputation for being a force in Betazoid politics dramatically enhanced. And she was now a force in interstellar politics. It was no wonder that Deanna preferred to stay on the Enterprise. Firmly keeping his thoughts under control, Jean-Luc said,

'Nevertheless, the fact is that you enjoy travelling the universe and meeting new species, don't you?'

'Yes, I suppose I do,' said Lwaxana thoughtfully as Jean-Luc ushered her into the Briefing Room and shut the door.

'Would you like something to drink?' asked Jean-Luc, walking over to the replicator.

'No, thank you.'

Jean-Luc got himself a cup of Earl Grey tea and waited for the interrogation to begin. Lwaxana looked out at the stars for a minute then said,

'Tell me about yourself, Jean-Luc. Where did you grow up?'

Jean-Luc looked blankly at her, amazed by the question. He had expected Lwaxana to cross-examine him about his relationship with Deanna but she was asking about his childhood instead. Lwaxana saw his baffled expression and answered his unspoken question,

'I promised Deanna that I wouldn't interfere.'

'Oh?'

'She's right, of course, it's none of my business. She's an adult and fully capable of running her own life. But…'

'But you worry about her anyway.'

'Yes.'

'Lwaxana, I don't know what will happen between Deanna and I but I can promise you that I would never deliberately hurt her.'

'I know that, Jean-Luc, but she's so delicate and easily hurt.'

Jean-Luc looked at Lwaxana in amazement, how could she be so wrong about her daughter? Trying to think of a way to explain it to her, he said,

'Lwaxana, Deanna's an amazing woman. She's strong, intelligent and caring. I've watched her grow over these last years and as well as being an excellent counsellor, she's become an outstanding officer too. A few years ago she was hesitant if she had take command but now she's calm and decisive and people follow her orders without question.'

'Really? But I don't suppose that she's ever been in command during a crisis.'

'Yes she has been. In fact,' Jean-Luc paused and said, 'Lwaxana, what's your security clearance?'

'Ultra Top Secret. Why?'

Jean-Luc relaxed,

'Then it's all right to tell you. You remember last year when we were forced to crash-land the saucer section?'

'Yes.'

'Well, I was off the ship and Will needed the senior Bridge crew with him, so Deanna was in command of the saucer section. She was the one at the helm when it landed.'

'Deanna? But she's not a pilot.'

'No but she did better than most pilots would have done. They retrieved the flight information from the computer and they've added it as a simulation for pilots at Starfleet Academy. I was sent a copy to try and I failed to make a safe landing the first eight times. The ninth time, I had fifty percent casualties, half of those fatal. When Deanna landed it there were no fatalities and only one hundred and seventy-two injuries. Even Data hasn't been able to better that.'

'She didn't tell me.'

'We couldn't talk about it at the time because of the inquiry and we've been very busy since.'

'What inquiry?'

'There's always an inquiry when a ship's lost. Fortunately, the inquiry ruled that Will and I both acted properly and that there was nothing else we could have done.'

'What about Deanna?'

'Deanna's was given an official commendation.'

'Oh.'

'Deanna's not a delicate flower, Lwaxana. She's a capable and highly talented woman.'

'I know. It's just, she's all I've got and I love her so much.'

'I know,' said Jean-Luc awkwardly, completely unaware that he was forming his thoughts so precisely that Lwaxana heard him as clearly as if he'd spoken out loud, even through raised shields,

*I love her too. *

Lwaxana's face softened but she didn't comment on his thoughts knowing that it made non-telepaths uncomfortable when she did. Instead she said,

'I suppose I'll have to accept that she's where she wants to be. Anyway, you didn't answer me when I asked where you grew up.'

'On Earth, in a small village in France. My father owned a vineyard.'

'It sounds idyllic.'

'In many ways it was but I wanted to be in Starfleet from a young age so as soon as I could, I went to Starfleet Academy.'

'And rose quickly through the ranks until you became Captain and have refused three promotions to Admiral since becoming captain of the Enterprise.'

'Yes, I can't imagine spending my life behind a desk.'

'So what will you do when you reach mandatory retirement age?'

'Retire to La Barre and tend the vines.'

'Does the vineyard belong to you then?'

'Yes,' replied Jean-Luc shortly, feeling again the pain of his brother and nephew's deaths.

Aware that she'd said something wrong, Lwaxana decided to change the subject,

'Do you need to get back to Sickbay?'

'Yes, otherwise Selar will send security to find me.'

'Really? Do the medical staff send security after you often, Jean-Luc?'

'No, although Beverley has threatened to in the past.'

Jean-Luc and Lwaxana went back to Sickbay and Jean-Luc reluctantly allowed himself to be examined again whilst Lwaxana sat beside Deanna. After about half an hour, Lwaxana got up, raised a hand in farewell to Jean-Luc and left.

Back in her hotel room, Lwaxana used the computer terminal to search for articles on the Picard vineyard. One of the most recent ones dealt with the death of Robert and René and Lwaxana felt a flood of compassion towards Jean-Luc as she read it. She knew only too well what it felt like to lose those close to you. Regaining her composure, Lwaxana did some more reading and then did some searches of public records. When she'd cross-checked what she'd found she felt a mixture of sadness and elation. Sadness because Jean-Luc was alone in the world, he had no other siblings and since both his parents had been only children, he had no aunts or uncles or first cousins either. And elation because the Picard vineyard had been in his family for generations, passing from father to son in an unbroken line, so he would want to have children. If he and Deanna stayed together then she would have grandchildren.  
Feeling more optimistic about the future than she had for a long time, Lwaxana got ready for bed and lay there wondering whether or not Jean-Luc would be willing to allow his sperm to be separated to make sure that they had a girl first.

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	24. Chapter 24

Disclaimer: Star Trek is the property of Paramount. I own nothing.

Chapter Twenty-Four

Jean-Luc woke the next morning to find himself in the care of the newest member of the medical team. Doctor Rivers hesitantly presented him with a tray containing croissants and coffee, saying,

'How are you feeling, Sir?'

'Fine.'

'Any headache, nausea or dizziness, Sir?'

'No.'

'Good. All of your readings are normal so you can leave as soon as you've eaten, Sir.'

'Thank you. It's Doctor Rivers, isn't it?' said Jean-Luc, belatedly realising that he hadn't been officially introduced to the young doctor.

'Yes, Sir.'

'Glad to have you aboard.'

'Thank you, Sir. It's an honour to be here.'

Jean-Luc nodded dismissal and turned his attention to his breakfast. Once he'd finished, he slid off the bio bed and changed back into his clothes from the previous evening. Deanna was still deeply asleep and he didn't want to wake her so before heading back to his quarters to shower and change for alpha shift he went over to Doctor Rivers and said,

'Is Counsellor Troi still making good progress?'

Doctor Rivers sprang to attention, replying,

'Yes, Sir. Her readings have continued to improve through the night. If her neurological scans are as expected, then she'll be discharged from Sickbay later today.'

'Good. Keep me posted.'

'Yes, Sir.'

'And please tell Counsellor Troi that I'm available should she need me.'

'Yes, Sir.'

Jean-Luc turned to go but then remembered another message that he should leave,

'And when Doctor Crusher comes in, tell her that I'll be in my Ready Room if she cares to join me for coffee.'

'Doctor Crusher's on leave, Sir. I'm not expecting to see her.'

Jean-Luc caught Alyssa Ogawa desperately smothering a smile and forced his own smile down, saying,

'Nevertheless, if Doctor Crusher should happen to pop in, please tell her that she's welcome to join me for a drink.'

'Yes, Sir.'

This time Jean-Luc got halfway out of the door before he remembered how he would have interpreted that message when he was an ensign. Going back to Doctor Rivers, he said,

'Please make it clear to Doctor Crusher that it's an invitation not an order.'

'Yes, Sir,' said Doctor Rivers, standing to attention again.

Jean-Luc finally made it out of Sickbay, shaking his head wryly at Doctor Rivers' punctilio. Still, there was no need to worry about it, Beverley would soon train him out of it. She didn't believe in unnecessary bowing and scraping, saying that saving lives was far more important than pandering to the over-inflated egos of command officers. Jean-Luc had never argued with her about it because he agreed, except for the part about over-inflated egos; with Beverley around there was no risk of his ego becoming over-inflated.

A couple of hours later, Jean-Luc was wading through Starfleet updates when the chime to his Ready Room sounded,

'Enter.'

Beverley came in, dressed in civvies and looking relaxed. Beverley smiled and said,

'I've come to take you up on your coffee invitation, if you've got time to take a break.'

Jean-Luc smiled,

'Of course, Beverley. What would you like?'

'Aldebaran vanilla coffee, please.'

Jean-Luc went to the replicator and ordered Beverley's drink, adding a cup of Earl Grey for him. They sat on the sofa and Jean-Luc looked at Beverley appreciatively. She was wearing a green blouse with black trousers and looked lovely.

'New outfit?' he asked.

'Yes, I picked it up this morning. What do you think?'

'You look lovely, as always.'

As he complimented her, Jean-Luc noticed with surprise that he wasn't feeling the combination of love, guilt and desire that he was used to feeling whenever he was around Beverley. Something inside him relaxed as he realised that whatever happened between him and Deanna, their relationship wouldn't fail because he was still in love with Beverley.

'Thank you, Jean-Luc. How are you feeling today?'

'Fine.'

'No headache, dizziness or nausea?'

'No, I feel completely normal.'

'Good. Deanna's feeling much better this morning. She should be shopping with Lwaxana by this afternoon.'

'Good.'

Jean-Luc put his cup on the table and quietly said,

'About Deanna…'

'Yes?'

'Yesterday, I asked her if she was willing for us to be in a full relationship. She said yes so we're now officially together.'

'Officially? Have you spoken to Starfleet about it?'

'No, and I shouldn't need to, Deanna's not on the command team. I meant as opposed to our Friendly Fire agreement.'

'I see. You asked her yesterday because you didn't want to be pre-empted by whatever Telna tells you, didn't you?'

'Yes, I didn't want Deanna to think that I was simply giving in to circumstances. She deserves to know that she's wanted.'

'Yes she does,' said Beverley, completely unprepared for the wave of jealousy searing through her brain. Surprised, she stared at the coffee table, trying to regain her composure.

'I'll tell Will as soon as I can see him.'

'Oh, he's going to be ecstatic about that,' said Beverley, sarcastically.

'I know,' said Jean-Luc, 'But as my first officer he has to be told and as a friend I don't want him to hear it on the grapevine first.'

'Just remember not to throw him through a bulkhead in front of witnesses.'

'Really, Beverley. It won't come to that.'

'We'll see,' said Beverley, glad that she hadn't told Jean-Luc about the fight that Will and Deanna had had. Jean-Luc would keep his temper whatever insults Will levelled at him but he was innately chivalrous and would expect Will to keep Deanna out of it. Beverley made a note to brief Selar and Dean about the possibility of needing to do some discreet, off the record repairs on Jean-Luc and Will if they did come to blows.  
They finished their drinks and Beverley went back on to the Starbase and wandered around the shops aimlessly, trying to work out why she was feeling jealous when she knew that she wasn't in love with Jean-Luc.

Deanna suppressed a sigh as her mother continued to list all of the shops that she thought they should visit. She liked shopping but she preferred a leisurely wander whereas her mother liked to mount an adrenaline fuelled assault, storming through as many shops as possible in the time she had. The prohibition on telepathic communication was still in force so Deanna and her mother were communicating vocally, which did seem very strange. Without thinking, Deanna said,

'I wonder how long it will be before we can talk telepathically again. It seems strange to be speaking when there's just you and I.'

Lwaxana casually turned her head and said,

'Doctor!'

Dean Rivers shot across the room, saying,

'Yes, Ambassador. Is everything all right?'

'No, everything is not all right. Deanna and I are having to communicate verbally, not to mention being forced to keep our shields up to avoid accidental contact. How much longer until she can start behaving normally again?'

'Counsellor Troi is due to have another neural scan at fourteen hundred hours. If that is satisfactory, then Doctor Selar will discharge her.'

'Why can't Doctor Selar do it now?'

'Because she's asleep, Mother.'

'Well wake her up.'

'No, I will not. She is currently off duty and I'm not going to ask her to come in early just so I can leave a couple of hours earlier.'

'But…'

'No, Mother.'

Deanna glared at Lwaxana and her mother reluctantly dropped the subject, instead asking Deanna whether or not she wanted to come to the spa with her. Deanna relaxed, happy to be able to respond enthusiastically to one of her mother's suggestions.

Jean-Luc was considering terrifying the young ensign currently on the Bridge with him by giving him the Bridge for an hour whilst he went down to Engineering to chat to Geordi when the turbolift doors opened and Deanna came on to the Bridge.

'Counsellor.'

'Captain.'

Mindful of the curious ears of the Bridge crew, Jean-Luc said,

'Could I have a word with you in my Ready Room, please?'

Jean-Luc and Deanna sat on the Ready Room sofa and Jean-Luc said,

'How are you feeling?'

'Better. My neural scans are back to normal and my gnaea levels are at eighty-five percent so I've been discharged from Sickbay.'

'Good. What are you going to do this afternoon?'

'Mother and I are going to the spa. We're going to have a massage and then relax in one of the Jacuzzis.'

'Have fun.'

'I will. I contacted Telna a few minutes ago. She would like to do her tests tomorrow evening, if that's convenient for you.'

'It should be fine. Data's taking beta shift this week so it's very unlikely that I'll be needed. Where does she want to do it?'

'I was going to suggest that she comes aboard the Enterprise as with so many people on leave it's actually less crowded here than on the Starbase.'

'Does Telna need any equipment?'

'No, she said that all she needs are some comfortable chairs.'

'Easy enough to arrange. How about Briefing Room three?'

Deanna nodded, Briefing Room three was the least formal of the briefing rooms, set up with a couple of sofas as well as tables and chairs.

'It sounds ideal.'

'Good. Make it so.'

Deanna smiled at Jean-Luc, standing up and saying,

'Mother's waiting, I'd better go.'

'Enjoy your massage.'

'I will, Mother's booked us full body massages with their most experienced masseurs.'

The image of Deanna lying naked on a massage table as he rubbed oil into her skin flashed into Jean-Luc's mind and he was suddenly, overwhelmingly aroused.  
Deanna gasped as his desire flooded her mind, filling her with warmth. All at once she had to feel his skin under her hands. Without hesitation she pulled him towards her and they kissed passionately, running their hands over each other's bodies. Deanna untucked Jean-Luc's uniform shirt and ran her hands over his back, wanting to feel every inch of him. Jean-Luc pulled her closer to him, moulding her to his body as he kissed his way along her neck. As they continued kissing, Jean-Luc felt himself tumbling into their link and it took every ounce of his self-control to draw back. It was only the memory of what had happened before that enabled him to break the kiss. Panting, he said,

'Your mother's waiting.'

Shuddering, Deanna forced her shields up and took a step back. As she did, some of her sanity returned and she realised that they had nearly made love in Jean-Luc's Ready Room whilst he was on duty.

'I need to leave,' she said, shocked.

'Yes. Would you like to have dinner tonight?'

'Yes and this time I'll make sure that my mother knows not to contact me.'

'Good. How does nineteen hundred hours in my quarters sound?'

'Perfect. I'll see you there.'

Smiling happily, Deanna left and Jean-Luc sat back down on the sofa and started to do bio-feedback exercises, very glad that they were docked at a starbase and he was unlikely to be called on to the Bridge in the next few minutes.

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	25. Chapter 25

Disclaimer: Star Trek is the property of Paramount. I own nothing.

Author's note: Telepathic communication is shown using *.

Chapter Twenty-Five

Paul Fisher was walking towards the bar that Commander Data had recommended to him when he saw Beverley Crusher strolling along the corridor ahead of him. He was wondering whether or not to approach her when she was joined by a human male whom Paul didn't recognise. The man was slightly unsteady on his feet and encroached Beverley's personal space without hesitation. She backed away and when he went to touch her, she blocked his hand, shaking her head vehemently. Paul sped up and within a few seconds he was in earshot,

'I'm sorry, I'm meeting someone,' said Beverley, politely but coldly.

'So where is he?' said the man, belligerently.

'Right here,' said Paul, calmly.

'Hello, Paul,' said Beverley, relieved to see another member of the Enterprise crew.

'Sorry I'm late, Beverley. It took me longer to finish up than I expected.'

'That's all right,' said Beverley, 'Shall we go?'

'Good idea,' replied Paul, casually easing himself between Beverley and the man.

The man glared at Paul in disgust but slowly turned away. Paul and Beverley walked quickly away. Once they were out of earshot, Beverley said,

'Thanks for the assistance.'

'No problem. I'm sure you would have got rid of him yourself soon enough anyway. You must be used to being approached.'

'Yes but he was very drunk so I might have had to hurt him. I hate having to do that.'

'Yes and you shouldn't need to. Saying 'no' should always be enough.'

'It should be but unfortunately it isn't always.'

They walked in silence for a moment then Paul said,

'I was going to have lunch at O'Connell's Bar. Would you like to join me?'

Paul held his breath as Beverly looked at him in silence for a few seconds. After what seemed like an eternity, she agreed.

O'Connell's Bar was fairly typical for a starbase bar with booths along both sides, a long bar at the far end and a tables and chairs in the middle. It was decorated in a way vaguely reminiscent of Earth's Irish culture but with an intergalactic theme over the top, so pictures of Ireland's countryside were side by side with pictures of Starfleet captains and their ships. Beverley paused for a moment next to the picture of Jean-Luc. Jean-Luc had very clearly been forced to pose for the picture and looked very disgruntled indeed. Beverley sniggered and said,

'How to avoid being chosen to be Starfleet's poster child, look as though you're being tortured whenever someone points a holoimager at you.'

Paul looked at the picture and smiled,

'He certainly doesn't look happy.'

'No, Jean-Luc hates posing for publicity shots. He may have many faults but he's not a narcissist. He is proud of his physical fitness but that's a good trait in a Starfleet officer.'

'Yes, Starfleet certainly places a lot of emphasis on physical fitness,' said Paul slightly ruefully, as they chose a booth and sat down opposite each other.

'Did you have problems at the academy?'

'Oh yes. There's nothing quite like being an unfit forty-one year-old amongst a bunch of fit and healthy eighteen year-olds.'

'Ouch. I bet the fitness instructors had a field day with you.'

'I don't think I had a single day in my first year without extra fitness sessions of some sort. Luckily, I'd done some martial arts as a teenager and I can shoot straight so I managed to scrape through the end of year assessment. I spent the summer vacation doing three hours of exercise a day so the second year was much better.'

'So you've only been in Starfleet for five years?'

'Yes, I joined up a after the Borg attack at Wolf 359.'

'A lot of people did,' said Beverley shortly, her eyes shadowed.

Paul reached over and gently touched her hand, remembering that it had been Jean-Luc Picard whom the Borg had taken and assimilated and that the Enterprise had somehow got him back and that Beverley and her team had somehow changed Locutus back into Jean-Luc.

'It must have been terrible for you.'

'Yes, it was.'

Beverley blinked away tears as she remembered operating on Jean-Luc, cloning a new eye and removing all the bits of Borg hardware from his body. This had been followed by weeks of heartbreak and desperation as she watched Deanna trying to bring back the man inside. Deanna had miraculously succeeded and Jean-Luc was now stronger than ever but at the time she'd been sure that the man she knew was gone forever.  
Paul waited to see if she wanted to elaborate and when she stayed silent, he took her hand in his and squeezed gently, offering comfort.  
They stayed like that until a waiter arrived to take their order. Once they had ordered, Beverley gave herself a mental shake and changed the subject, saying,

'You said Data recommended this bar to you?'

'Yes, he said that several of the crew had commented on how good the food was last time the Enterprise was here, so I thought I'd try it.'

'I hope he's right, I'm ravenous.'

'Me too. I went to the spa this morning and swam for a couple of hours.'

'Is swimming your preferred sport then?'

'For fitness, yes. I play hoverball for fun and I like competing in phaser shooting competitions.'

'Do you win?'

'The phaser shooting? Sometimes. More or less never at hoverball though, I'm not fast enough on my feet. How about you?'

'Deanna and I work out together most days. We've also been learning Mok'bara. Lieutenant Worf teaches it.'

'Does he do a beginners class? I'd like to improve my hand to hand fighting.'

'I'm not sure, but he'll be happy to help you improve your hand to hand fighting anyway.'

'Good. I need something to get rid of my frustrations after working with computers all day.'

'Is that what your area is? I saw that you were a science specialist.'

'Yes, I'm a level eight computer specialist.'

'Level eight? Doesn't that make you one of the top ranked people in Starfleet?'

'Yes,' said Paul hesitantly, hoping that Beverley didn't find it too off putting.

'How did you end up on the Enterprise?'

'Luck. I'd just finished the project I was working on at Starbase Ninety-seven when the request for replacements for the Enterprise came through so when I put myself forward Commander Atkins didn't object and I made sure that she signed my new orders before Starfleet Headquarters had time to object.'

'Are you enjoying it?'

'Yes, there's a great atmosphere on the Enterprise and I've never worked on the Galaxy class computers before so it's really interesting.'

Beverley smiled at the innocent enthusiasm in Paul's voice, wondering if Jean-Luc knew what a valuable resource they now had aboard the Enterprise.  
Their food arrived and the conversation moved to the amenities aboard the starbase and their plans for the next few days.

Jean-Luc checked the table to make sure that everything was ready. He'd decided that their first dinner as a couple should be special so he'd replicated candles and flowers and ordered some gourmet chocolates from a shop on the starbase. He'd also programmed his door to admit Deanna automatically.  
Promptly at nineteen hundred hours, his door hissed open and Deanna came in. She was wearing a form fitting, dusky pink dress and Jean-Luc found himself itching to remove it. Deanna smiled at him and walked across the room, reaching up to kiss him lightly on the lips. Jean-Luc put his arms around her and pulled her in for a more lengthy kiss. He was tempted to skip dinner and lead her directly into the bedroom but reminded himself that she was just out of Sickbay and needed to eat properly. Letting go of her, he stepped back, cleared his throat and said,

'How was the massage?'

'Really good and the pool was lovely too. How was your day?'

'Dull except for a beautiful woman kissing me earlier.'

'I'm sorry about that.'

'Don't be, it was the highlight of my day.'

Deanna blushed as she remembered how out of control they'd been and how much she'd wanted to continue,

'But…'

'But, not in my Ready Room, no. Unless we were on the holodeck of course.'

Deanna's breath caught at the thought of doing all the things she'd imagined doing on the ship on a holodeck replica of the ship. Regretfully, she shook her head, saying,

'That's probably not a good idea. We could both end up distracted on duty.'

'True, if it was the Enterprise. But there'd be nothing to stop us using one of the other classes of ship, particularly if we used a ship from a class that's been decommissioned.'

Deanna's eyes darkened as she imagined acting out some of her fantasies on another ship. She could feel Jean-Luc's arousal building too and was about to suggest leaving dinner until later when the door chime sounded. Jean-Luc looked irritated but barked,

'Enter.'

The door opened and Lwaxana came in. Jean-Luc stared at her dumbfounded as she said,

'Hello, Jean-Luc. How are you?'

*Mother, what are you doing here? *

*Just stopping by. *

'I'm fine, thank you. How are you?' said Jean-Luc, struggling to keep his voice cordial.

'Very well, thank you.'

*Mother, you have to leave now! *

*Don't worry, Deanna. I'm only staying for a moment. *

Jean-Luc glanced at Deanna's expression and realised that she was as furious as he was. Determined to keep Lwaxana's visit as short as possible, he said,

'Was there something I can do for you?'

'No, Jean-Luc. I just popped by to give you this.'

Lwaxana handed Jean-Luc a small box, saying,

'It's something for you to wear at the spa.'

Jean-Luc looked at the box nervously and Lwaxana's eyes gleamed with mischief as she said,

'Time I was off, I agreed to meet Telna for dinner. Bye.'

Jean-Luc said goodbye automatically and watched as Lwaxana made her way to the door. Lwaxana paused at the door and smiled at Deanna,

*Make sure he models them for you. *

*Mother! *

Jean-Luc heaved a sigh of relief as the door closed behind Lwaxana. Behind him he could feel Deanna quietly fuming and said ruefully,

'Well, that's one way to make sure that you eat.'

Deanna looked at him blankly for a moment before realising what he meant, the sexual tension from a few minutes ago was completely gone, in fact she was not in the mood at all any more and she could tell that Jean-Luc's ardour had been completely doused too. She smiled at him and said,

'I'm sorry.'

'Why? You didn't invite her to come, did you?'

'No, I certainly didn't. In fact I told her quite categorically that we wanted privacy tonight.'

'Then it's not your fault.'

'Thank you. I just wish that she'd respect my privacy sometimes.'

Jean-Luc gave Deanna a rueful smile, knowing that getting Lwaxana to respect their privacy was going to be an on-going battle. Giving in to circumstances, he said,

'Why don't we eat?'

They went to the table and Jean-Luc lit the candles and started serving the food.

By the time dinner was over, Deanna had relaxed enough to say,

'So what did my mother buy you?'

Jean-Luc retrieved the box and opened it, surprised to find a simple pair of swim shorts inside. Holding them up, he said,

'They seem fine.'

Remembering her mother's parting remark, Deanna said,

'Why don't you try them on?'

Jean-Luc was about to refuse when he saw the lustful look in Deanna's eyes and changed his mind.

'Why not?'

He took the shorts into the bedroom and stripped. As he put the swim shorts on he heard the door opening behind him and said,

'I thought you were going to wait outside.'

'Why would I when the view's so much better in here?'

Deanna came up behind Jean-Luc as he pulled the swim shorts up, admiring the way they clung to his body. She ran her hands over his buttocks, enjoying the soft feeling of the material under her hands,

'I think I like these.'

'I'm not so sure,' said Jean-Luc, looking down at the front of the shorts and feeling rather exposed.

'Turn around and let me see.'

Jean-Luc turned around and Deanna instantly understood the reason for her mother's remark; the material moulded itself to Jean-Luc's body perfectly, following the outlines of his body exactly. The result was somehow more revealing than nudity would have been.

'I don't think…' began Jean-Luc, putting his hands in the waistband of the shorts to pull then down.

Two seconds later he was backed up against the wall as Deanna kissed him passionately whilst holding his hands against the wall. When she came up for air she said,

'Leave them on.'

Amused and aroused by her aggression, Jean-Luc waited to see what she would do next.  
First Deanna kissed her way across his chest, stopping him when he tried to caress her. Then she very slowly ran her hands up his thighs, getting slower and slower as she neared the top. Their empathic link had snapped into place the instant that they had kissed and Jean-Luc could feel Deanna becoming more and more aroused as she teased him. As soon as she touched the material of his shorts she took her hands away, leaving him groaning in disappointment. He was about to reach out for her when she said,

'No. Not this time. Lie on the bed.'

Jean-Luc reluctantly complied, willing to play but frustrated by his inability to reciprocate. Smiling sensually, Deanna said,

'Don't worry, I won't make you wait much longer.'

Reaching behind her, she unfastened her dress and stepped out of it. Jean-Luc only had a minute to appreciate her lacy black underwear before it too was on the floor, quickly followed by her stockings and shoes.  
He lay back on the bed as she crawled over him, scratching her way lightly up his legs. This time she didn't stop at his shorts but gently ran a finger along the front of the shorts, saying,

'I wonder how much this material stretches?'

Jean-Luc arched up into her hand trying to increase the contact but she smiled evilly and moved her hands up to his stomach enjoying feeling his muscles flex under her hands. Groaning, Jean-Luc said,

'Deanna…'

'Something wrong?'

He was about to grab her and flip them so he could take control when she stretched full length over him making them both shudder with pleasure. Deanna started nibbling along his neck and Jean-Luc brought his hands up, tugging her hair gently with one hand and cupping one of her buttocks with the other, pushing her on to him. Deanna writhed against him enjoying the sensation of the cloth against her. As she writhed, Jean-Luc became more aroused and Deanna suddenly peaked, screaming incoherently. Deanna lay panting on his chest for a few seconds then slid downwards. She slipped her hands into the waistband of his shorts and slowly pulled them off, taking her time sliding them down his legs and on to the floor. Jean-Luc desperately resisted the urge to grab her and pull her on to the bed and was rewarded a few seconds later when she came back up the bed and impaled herself on him. She sat there for a few seconds enjoying tormenting them both but then the sensations became too much and she began to move. Within a few seconds they both climaxed, screaming each other's names as the physical and mental pleasure combined sending fire through their bodies and minds.

Exhausted, Jean-Luc fought sleep long enough to pull Deanna back into his arms and kiss her tenderly.

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	26. Chapter 26

Disclaimer: Star Trek is the property of Paramount. I own nothing.

Chapter Twenty-Six

Jean-Luc wove through the crowds thronging the main corridor, trying to find the hotel where Will Riker was staying. He had asked Data to take over command of the Bridge early so that he could tell Will about the change in his and Deanna's relationship. He had also taken the opportunity to tell Data that he and Deanna were in a full relationship. Data had reacted with mild curiosity, wanting to know what had made them change their minds. Jean-Luc had simply told him that they'd been missing each other's company and had decided that they wanted to be together. He hadn't said anything about the mind link as he hadn't had time to ask Deanna what, if anything, she wanted to say to their friends about it. He had intended to talk to her over breakfast but she had slept through his alarm, only waking when he was about to leave. She'd given him a sleepy kiss (which had made him wish that he could get straight back into bed) and then he'd had to go. He just wished that there was any chance of Will reacting with mild curiosity or mild anything in fact. He'd arranged to come to Will's hotel so that they could meet as equals not captain and commander so he'd changed out of his uniform as well.  
Finally finding the hotel, Jean-Luc tugged down the hem of his shirt, squared his shoulders and went in. The automated security system checked his identity then directed him to the third floor. Jean-Luc quickly found himself outside Will's room and, bracing himself for what was to come, he pressed the chime. Will opened the door and said,

'Jean-Luc, come in. What can I get you to drink? Synthale? Earl Grey?'

'Earl Grey, please.'

Will fetched them both drinks from the replicator, choosing coffee for himself, and then said,

'What brings you to my hotel room?'

Will's facetiousness had an edge to it, reflecting the tension between the two men.

Jean-Luc hesitated then decided that there was no point pussyfooting around,

'I came to talk to you about Deanna and I.'

Will paused with his cup half way to his mouth,

'Yes?'

'We've decided to see if we can make a full relationship work.'

'A full relationship? On board ship?'

'Yes.'

'Is that a good idea?'

Will's tone was accusatory and Jean-Luc forced himself not to react, replying calmly,

'Probably not but we've decided that we want more than just casual sex so what other choice was there?'

'So it was a joint decision?'

By sheer force of will, Jean-Luc managed not to react angrily to Will's implied accusation, instead saying tersely,

'Yes. Deanna has agreed to throw her lot in with me, we're a couple now.'

Hearing Jean-Luc describing himself and Deanna as a couple made Will feel sick to his stomach and he turned his back on Jean-Luc and stared out of the window, blinking hard as he forced his emotions back under control. After a couple of minutes he turned back to Jean-Luc and said,

'Thank you for letting me know.'

'We didn't want you to hear it from anyone else.'

'I appreciate that. Have you told Starfleet yet?'

'No, but as far as I can tell, we don't have to. Because Deanna's in the Medical Department, Beverley does all her performance assessments and reviews and, as you know, I'm not allowed any input.'

Will nodded, saying,

'To make it impossible for you to bring influence to bear.'

'Quite rightly, in my opinion. I may disagree with Beverley or Deanna about many things but the last thing I'd want is a doctor or counsellor who is scared to do the right thing.'

'Have you told Beverley yet?'

'Yes and I told Data just before I came here.'

'Right.'

Silence fell and the two men stood and looked awkwardly at each other. Jean-Luc drained the last of his tea and said,

'I'd better be off then. See you in a few days time.'

'Yes.'

Jean-Luc moved towards the door but before he could leave, Will said,

'Take care of her.'

Jean-Luc could hear the pain in Will's voice and when he faced him, Jean-Luc could see the misery in his eyes,

'I intend to.'

'Good.'

Jean-Luc turned away again, only to have to turn back as Will said,

'If you hurt her…'

Jean-Luc smiled ruefully,

'If I hurt her, Beverley will do something agonisingly painful to me, I imagine.'

For the first time since their greeting, Will smiled,

'And she'd probably manage to make it look like an accident too.'

'True.'

This time Jean-Luc managed to make it out of the room. As he made his way back to the ship he made a mental note to ask Beverley to check that Will was all right. He didn't understand why Will was still so upset, when he and Deanna broke up so many years ago, but there was no doubt that he was devastated.

Jean-Luc got to the briefing room at eighteen fifty-five hours, half expecting Deanna to be there already. Since she was spending the day on the starbase, they had agreed that Deanna would meet Telna and escort her to the briefing room. Deanna had arranged to meet Telna at eighteen thirty which should have got them to the Enterprise by eighteen forty-five but they'd obviously been held up. Jean-Luc sat down at the briefing room table and called up some work on the computer.

It wasn't until nineteen fifteen that Deanna and Telna arrived and it was clear that Deanna was annoyed.

'Problem?' asked Jean-Luc, switching off the computer.

'My mother!' said Deanna glaring.

'What did she do?'

'She wanted to be present at the testing,' explained Telna.

'I see. I imagine that she wasn't very pleased when you told her that she couldn't be.'

'No, she wasn't. It took us twenty-five minutes to convince her that she couldn't be here. That's why we're late,' said Deanna, 'She tried everything form of persuasion and emotional blackmail that she knows.'

'Why?' asked Jean-Luc, puzzled, 'We're going to tell her the result anyway. Aren't we?'

'Much as I'd love to punish her by keeping her in the dark, yes, we are. She'd find out very quickly anyway.'

'Would she?'

'Betazoid bonds are very rare. If we've got one, it'll be in the news on Betazed within days.'

Jean-Luc grimaced and Deanna smiled, saying,

'But we won't be there and the location of the Enterprise at any given time is classified so they won't be able to come to us.'

Jean-Luc relaxed, he was used to being in the news in his absence and it no longer bothered him.

'So, why did Lwaxana want to be here?'

'Because she's an interfering control freak.'

Jean-Luc went to comment but Deanna beat him to it, correctly herself wearily,

'I know, it's because she worries about me but she just can't accept that I'm an adult, capable of making my own decisions.'

'Do parents ever accept that you're an adult? Mine never did,' said Jean-Luc wryly.

'My father still treats me as if I'm eleven,' agreed Telna, ruefully.

Deanna sighed and Jean-Luc saw the anger starting to drain away. Turning to Telna, he said,

'What do you need us to do?'

'Initially, I'd like to talk to each of you about what has happened.'

'Certainly. Who do you want to start with?'

'You, Jean-Luc, if I may.'

Telna got Jean-Luc and then Deanna to describe everything that had happened, recording their answers. She then asked them to sit next to each other on one of the sofas,

'In a minute, I'm going to ask you to initiate your empathic link. I'm going to try to sense the bond so please do not be alarmed if you sense my presence. I'm also going to use a neural recorder to detect changes in the way your minds interact.'

Jean-Luc looked at Deanna and when she nodded calmly, he said,

'All right.'

Telna set up her equipment and sat down opposite them. She turned the neural recorder on, waited for about a minute and then said,

'Please initiate your link.'

Jean-Luc hesitantly turned towards Deanna, feeling awkward in front of Telna. Deanna smiled gently at him and took his hand in hers, linking their fingers. She raised her eyes to his and suddenly the empathic link was in place. Without thinking about it, he pulled Deanna into his arms and kissed her. The link deepened and Deanna moved so that she was straddling Jean-Luc's lap and pushed her hands inside his jacket, eager to feel his skin under her fingers. Jean-Luc put one hand in her hair and tugged gently whilst sliding his other hand down to her thigh and scratching lightly.

They were brought out of their haze by Telna's voice saying loudly,

'Please break the bond now.'

Deanna got off Jean-Luc's lap and slowly withdrew her mind from his, struggling to tamp down her arousal. On the sofa, Jean-Luc had awkwardly crossed his legs, trying to conceal his erection.

Telna switched off her neural recorder and began to analyse the results, giving Deanna and Jean-Luc time to compose themselves.  
By the time that she had completed her initial analysis, Deanna and Jean-Luc were outwardly calm. Impressed by their apparent calm, she said,

'The results are conclusive, a link is present.'

Jean-Luc waited for a moment, then said,

'What does that mean?'

'You and Deanna share a Betazoid mind link.'

'Yes, but what are the consequences of it?'

'I'm not sure. Because you're human and Deanna is half human, I don't know how it will evolve.'

'What can you tell us?' asked Deanna.

'It appears to be one of the non-platonic bonds. Probably Tefki or Tefkiri.'

'Tefki? That means sexual? And Tefkiri is lovers?' said Deanna, tentatively, remembering her Ancient Betazoid lessons.

'Yes,' said Telna, 'Tefki is a temporary bond, based on sexual attraction, usually lasting a few months. Tefkiri is a permanent bond, which starts off with intense sexual attraction, followed by an abiding love.'

'So it may not be permanent?' said Deanna, feeling a sharp pang of disappointment.

'No.'

'You said probably?' said Jean-Luc.

'There are one or two other bonds that it might be but they're extremely rare.'

Jean-Luc nodded, acknowledging the information, then asked,

'If it is Tefki or Tefkiri, what can we expect?'

'Intense sexual attraction, which is virtually impossible to resist. If it's Tefki, it will burn itself out. If it's Tefkiri, it will evolve into something stronger and deeper.'

Jean-Luc nodded his thanks as he digested what they'd been told. There was far less information than he'd hoped for but at least he now knew why their self-control had been so poor. And the sexual attraction and loss of self-control would continue for at least a few months, which meant that he and Deanna would have to make sure that they were not alone on duty.

Telna packed her equipment away and stood up. Jean-Luc stood too, saying,

'Thank you for coming.'

'You're welcome, Jean-Luc. I will be here until the end of the week if you have more questions.'

Jean-Luc and Deanna led Telna through the ship towards the docking tube. As they neared the starbase Telna stopped and said,

'I'll do the paperwork for Starfleet as soon as possible.'

Jean-Luc and Deanna exchanged puzzled glances before looking blankly at Telna.

'What paperwork?' asked Deanna.

Author's love feedback - please review


	27. Chapter 27

Disclaimer: Star Trek is the property of Paramount. I own nothing.

Author's note: Most of you will have realised that I've taken some liberties with the layout of the Enterprise-E. For the purposes of this fic, please assume that the crew decided to put a temporary bar in an unused cargo hold and designated this 'Ten-Forward'.

Chapter Twenty-Seven

Telna looked at Jean-Luc and Deanna in amazement as she realised that they genuinely had no idea what she was talking about. Surprised to have caught them out, she said,

'The paperwork pertaining to Starfleet Regulation T107, Telepathic Bonds: Notifications and Additional Regulations.'

Jean-Luc rarely considered the regulations covering telepathic bonds because Vulcan marriages were covered by a different set of regulations and other telepathic bonds were very rare. However, his encyclopaedic knowledge of Starfleet regulations immediately supplied him with the relevant paragraph,

'When members of Starfleet form a telepathic bond (whether with another member of Starfleet or a civilian) they shall, as soon as practicable, have that bond verified by a suitably qualified expert. Upon verification of the bond, said expert shall inform Starfleet as soon as possible of the bonds existence and the following provisions shall apply:

Members of the bonded group may not be transferred within Starfleet except with the other members of the group.

Due consideration shall be given to any changes in behaviour that may arise due to the bond…'

There was a lot more about treating bonded crewmembers fairly and giving due consideration to any additional support that they might need, but Jean-Luc felt a rush of relief as he remembered the first provision; Starfleet could not transfer Deanna off the Enterprise without him. Smiling, he said,

'Thank you, Telna. I had forgotten that T107 would apply. How soon do you think that you'll be able to inform Starfleet?'

'The paperwork is tedious but straightforward, I should be able to send it off tomorrow.'

'I'll expect a call from Headquarters the day after tomorrow, then,' said Jean-Luc wryly, knowing that Starfleet's first reaction would be baffled disbelief.

Telna returned Jean-Luc's smile but didn't comment. She had had enough contacts with bureaucrats to know that Jean-Luc was right; anything out of the norm would be treated with suspicion. However, Starfleet had no choice but to accept it, the neural recordings guaranteed that. Turning to leave, she said,

'Lwaxana is waiting for me. Can I tell her about your bond or do you want to?'

'I don't mind,' said Jean-Luc, 'Deanna?'

'Why don't you tell her? I want to get changed before dinner and there's no reason for Mother to have to wait.'

There was relief in Telna's smile as she said goodbye and walked down the docking tube. Lwaxana was not a patient person and withholding information from her could turn into an endurance contest.

As soon as Telna was out of sight, Deanna started walking towards the turbolift as fast as she could, saying,

'We need to be quick.'

'We do?'

'Yes. Mother is expecting me to be at her hotel in forty-five minutes.'

Slightly puzzled, Jean-Luc matched his speed to her and obediently followed her into the turbolift. His puzzlement was dispelled when Deanna pulled him to her and kissed him passionately. He returned the kiss, losing himself in the moment, revelling in the feel of her lips under his and her body moving against his. Their bond formed and Jean-Luc felt his arousal building once again.  
However, the small remnant of his brain that was still functioning intervened when he felt Deanna's hands pushing his shirt up, trying to get him to take it off. Pulling back he said,

'We need to wait. Someone could come in.'

'So? T107 applies, doesn't it?'

Jean-Luc looked at her in shock then saw the amused gleam in her eyes and realised that she was joking. Smiling back, he said,

'We could almost get away with being caught having sex in the turbolift, couldn't we?'

'Theoretically, yes. In practice, the explanations would be a nightmare.'

'Not to mention the decades of teasing we would get from Beverley and Will.'

'Yes, we'd never live it down.'

Deanna smirked at him as the lift halted and continued innocently,

'We'll have to leave it until we're on a holodeck.'

The thought of ravishing Deanna in a turbolift on the holodeck filled Jean-Luc with desire and he decided that he was going to book them some holodeck time as soon as he got back to his room. His thoughts came back to the here and now as Deanna led him into her quarters, kicked off her shoes and casually unfastened her dress, letting it fall to the floor. As he admired her body she huffed impatiently, saying,

'Strip, Jean-Luc. I have to shower and change too.'

Confused by her insistence, Jean-Luc said,

'Why don't we wait until later and take our time?'

'Because I'm extremely aroused and I need to have an orgasm now.'

Jean-Luc hesitated and she continued,

'You're just as aroused as I am, Jean-Luc, so why are you procrastinating?'

'Sorry,' said Jean-Luc, fumbling for the fastening on his shirt, 'I just like taking my time.'

'I know and I like that too but we've only got time for a quickie now.'

Jean-Luc finally got his shirt undone and slipped it off. Deanna had removed her underwear as they were talking and walked naked towards the bedroom. Kicking his shoes off, Jean-Luc followed her into the bedroom, unfastening his trousers as he went. Deanna lay on the bed and held out her arms to him and Jean-Luc ripped off the rest of his clothes and joined her.  
The moment they touched the link snapped into place and Deanna's mind flooded with arousal. Unable to wait she pulled Jean-Luc to her and into her in one smooth movement. It was frantic and fast and extremely intense. Deanna climaxed once from their combined emotions and then again when Jean-Luc climaxed.  
She allowed herself the luxury of a two minute cuddle before climbing off the bed and getting into the shower.  
Five minutes later, Jean-Luc watched sleepily as she rapidly dressed and did her hair and make-up. Slipping her shoes on, she said,

'I've got to go. I'll comm you tomorrow.'

Jean-Luc got off the bed and she ran her eyes appreciatively over his body, admiring his firm masculine body as he walked towards her. Leaning in and giving her a gentle kiss, he said,

'You look beautiful.'

Beaming, Deanna said,

'Thank you. So do you.'

With a backwards smile at Jean-Luc's bemused expression, Deanna left. Jean-Luc watched until the doors closed behind her, then showered, dressed and headed back to his quarters for an evening of reading Shakespeare.

Beverley hit the chime beside Will's hotel door for the third time and waited impatiently. After a few seconds, she finally heard movement inside. Knocking on the door, she said,

'Will, it's Beverley. Let me in.'

The door opened to reveal a very bleary eyed Will Riker. His clothes were a bit rumpled and he was rubbing sleep out of his eyes. Beverley looked him over knowledgeably and said,

'Real alcohol last night?'

Will nodded and then groaned as the motion of his head made the pain worse. Beverley reached into her bag and pulled out a small med-kit. Selecting the correct hypospray, she adjusted the dosage and pushed it against Will's neck. Will gave a sigh of relief as the medicine worked and the pain and nausea vanished,

'Thanks, Beverley. You're a wonder.'

'I know,' said Beverley with an amused smile, 'Why don't you shower and change and I'll replicate us some lunch?'

Will blinked slightly as the word 'lunch' percolated his consciousness but a quick glance at the chronometer showed that Beverley was right; it was thirteen hundred hours so it was lunch time.  
By the time he'd showered and put on clean clothes, Beverley had replicated soup, sandwiches and fruit for their lunch. They chatted amicably about the starbase's facilities over lunch, comparing impressions and experiences. Once they'd finished, Will said,

'Why are you here, Beverley?'

'Because I was worried about you.'

Beverley didn't add that Jean-Luc and Deanna were worried about him too, knowing that that wouldn't help at all at the moment.

'Why?'

'Because of the news about Jean-Luc and Deanna.'

'What that they're a couple? Or that they have a mind link? Why would I have a problem with that?'

Will spat out the words bitterly, making no attempt to hide how he felt. Jean-Luc had commed him the evening before with the news that he and Deanna were bonded which had set the seal on a very bad day as far as he was concerned.

Beverley sighed and said,

'Well, why do you have a problem with it, Will?'

'Because I love Deanna, of course.'

'So do I but are you in love with her?'

'Of course I am!'

'Then why have you been running away from her for years?'

'What? Beverley, we've been together on the Enterprise for the last eight years.'

'As friends, yes, but every time you got close to becoming romantically involved again something would pull you away, usually another woman. Why?'

Will looked down at the floor and mumbled,

'It never seemed like the right time.'

'So when was it going to be the right time?'

'I don't know. I suppose I just assumed that she'd wait for me.'

'Like she waited on Risa?'

Will flushed angrily but Beverley continued relentlessly,

'Why didn't you send her a message to say that you weren't coming?'

'That's ancient history, Beverley. Deanna forgave me years ago.'

'I know, but you haven't answered the question. I understand you deciding to put your career first but what stopped you from sending her a message?'

Will squirmed under Beverley's gaze, unable to answer her. Just as he'd been unable to answer Deanna when she'd asked him. Hoping to deflect Beverley, he counter-attacked,

'What about you, Beverley? What stopped you from having a relationship with Jean-Luc? Everyone knew that you wanted to.'

'Fear.'

'Fear?'

'Yes, fear.'

Beverley looked out of the window for a moment, trying to find a way to explain,

'When Jean-Luc told me that he and Deanna were in a proper relationship I felt so jealous and I couldn't understand why.'

'Because you're in love with Jean-Luc?'

'No, I'm not. I was infatuated with him and I truly admire him but I was never in love with him.'

'So?'

'So, eventually I realised that I was jealous because Deanna was brave enough to say yes when I wasn't. Despite the fact that she might get hurt again. Whenever things between Jean-Luc and I got too intense, I would always be overwhelmed with fear and push him away. If I hadn't, I might be in a relationship with him now.'

'But you're one of the bravest people I know,' objected Will, struggling to understand.

'Physically, maybe, but emotionally, I'm a coward. I'm so scared that the person I love will leave or die that I push people away. And you do the same.'

'I…it's not the same.'

'Perhaps not but the effect is the same. Jean-Luc and Deanna moved on and we have to do the same.'

'But…'

'I'm having counselling.'

'Voluntarily?'

'Yes.'

'But you hate counselling,' said Will, stunned.

'No, Will, I don't hate counselling, I loathe and detest counselling with every fibre of my being.'

'So why…?'

'Because I'm fed up of being alone and unless I deal with the issues from my past, I'm going to be alone forever.'

'I hope it works for you, Beverley,' said Will.

'Thank you. It seems to be helping. Have you ever considered counselling?'

'What for?'

'Because you're commitment phobic when it comes to women.'

'No, I'm not. I'm just not ready to settle down yet.'

'Right,' said Beverley sarcastically, 'And I'm really a Sulamid in disguise.'

'Beverley!'

'Fine, I'll leave it. But please, Will, I'm asking as your friend, think about getting counselling. Sam Matthews is very competent, I'm sure he'd be able to help you.'

'I'll think about,' said Will, reluctantly.

'Good,' said Beverley, 'Now get your swimming trunks, we're going to the spa.'

Will smiled ruefully as Beverley ordered him about. The sooner Starfleet finished the first medical ships the better; Beverley was obviously itching for command. Meekly gathering his stuff, he conceded that being bossed about was a small price to pay for having a friend like Beverley.

Author's love feedback - please review.


	28. Chapter 28

Disclaimer: Star Trek is the property of Paramount. I own nothing.

Author's note: Telepathic communication is shown using *.

Chapter Twenty-Eight

Jean-Luc controlled himself until Admiral Beyland had ended the communication then relieved his feelings by letting loose with some of his father's favourite curses. The universal translator automatically repeated them back to him in Federation Standard and hearing the literal translation of the colourful phrases made Jean-Luc laugh, easing his frustration. Admiral Beyland had called about the 'mistake' in his and Deanna's records and it had taken him two hours and all of his patience and diplomacy to convince the admiral that it wasn't a mistake and that the bond was real. Fortunately, he'd contacted Telna the day before to ask for any literature she had about Betazoid mind links, so he'd been able to tell Admiral Beyland that the mind links were totally unpredictable. This, in turn, had enabled him to bring in the adage that, 'Dealing with the unpredictable is all in a day's work for Starfleet'. The connection was a bit specious but Admiral Beyland had been reassured by the idea that it was just another of those things that trained Starfleet officers should be able to take in their stride and had ended by wishing Jean-Luc good luck. Jean-Luc sincerely hoped that he'd convinced her that it was simply part of the rich tapestry of life as a Starfleet officer because she was a pompous pedant and was entirely capable of insisting that he and Deanna go through a battery of tests, even though Telna's tests and conclusions were all that was required by Starfleet regulations. He just hoped that Admiral Beyland wasn't the first of many.  
Thinking about Deanna calmed him down further and he smiled as he remembered how she'd surprised him last night, turning up just as he was about to go to bed. She had casually undressed and joined him in bed, smiling mischievously as his body had reacted to hers, saying,

'Have you missed me?'

Then she had kissed her way down his body and proceeded to use her tongue to drive him wild. Through their link he could feel her arousal building alongside his and he'd deliberately opened his mind to her so that she could feel how much he wanted her. After a few minutes he could no longer tell where his emotions ended and hers started, all he felt was joyful lust. Just when he thought that he was going to go insane, she stopped and lay in the middle of the bed, opening herself to him and pulling him towards her. He had retained just enough self-control to insist on returning the favour and had been rewarded by her screaming his name as he used his fingers and tongue to drive over the edge again and again. Eventually, the urge for completion became too much and he had flipped her over and joined their bodies, using his knowledge of her body to bring her to another climax before finally joining her.  
He had managed to stay awake just long enough to tell her how wonderful she was and had then slept solidly for several hours.  
He had woken to find her soft body draped over his and had found himself entranced by her sensual beauty. He had watched her until she woke and then they had made love gently and tenderly before going their separate ways.

Jean-Luc reluctantly forced his mind away from Deanna and picked up the latest update from Data on potential improvements to the holodeck systems.

Deanna watched her mother pack with mixed feelings. She wouldn't miss her mother's bossiness and interference but she would miss her strength and unconditional love.

* Be careful on Tevny, Mother*

* It's a routine diplomatic mission, Deanna. I'll be fine. You're the one that needs to be careful*

* I'll be fine*

* You say that but serving on board Starfleet's flagship is hardly safe*

* Jean-Luc's captain of the flagship for good reason. The Enterprise has had far fewer fatalities than other ships of its class*

* Far fewer! Is that supposed to make me feel better?*

* Actually, yes. Statistically, I'm safer here than I would be on many planets*

* Not than if you were on Betazed*

* Mother, I am not returning to Betazed. I love Starfleet and anyway, what would Jean-Luc do on Betazed?*

* He could teach. Or bring up your children*

* Bring up our children! Mother, we've only just started a relationship, I think it's a bit early to be thinking about children*

* I was just saying that Jean-Luc would have options if you lived on Betazed. He wouldn't have to just sit around looking decorative. Not that he's not decorative but I wouldn't want him to be bored*

* Mother, you are unbelievable! What Jean-Luc and I decide to do is not your business. If our relationship turns out to be long term, then he and I will decide whether or not we want to have children and where we want to raise them*

* Deanna, you are a daughter of the Fifth House. You have duties as well as privileges*

* Duties to a mouldy old pot and a set of rusty rings! Don't you think it's time that the Houses came into the twenty-fourth century? All this nonsense about daughters and rituals is so ridiculous. Betazed is an egalitarian culture and has been for centuries now except for the few people in the Houses who insist on clinging to the past. A not very glorious past, may I point out*

* I know how you feel, Deanna, but the fact is, people like seeing the old customs kept alive*

* You and your cronies, you mean*

* Not just us. When your grandmother died I tried to step down as head of the Fifth House, you know. I was going to give the house to the world government, along with half of the other properties because I didn't want to spend my life in the public eye. There was a huge public outcry and I was made to see that it wasn't in Betazed's best interests for me to step down*

* Times change, Mother. I'm only half Betazoid and any children Jean-Luc and I have will be only a quarter Betazoid. I'm sure I'll be able to convince the government to let me step down. It won't be for a long time anyway*

* That's true. Your children could be adults by the time I die and you never know, perhaps one of them might want to take up the duties*

Deanna sighed with frustration and pointedly changed the subject,

* What time are you supposed to be meeting Telna?*

* Twelve. Why?*

* It's eleven forty-five. Shouldn't we be leaving?*

Lwaxana abandoned her packing and left her hotel room without a backwards glance, knowing that Mr Homm would finish it for her and take it all to the ship. Deanna walked to the restaurant with her mother but refused an invitation to join them for lunch, choosing to say goodbye there rather than at the docking bay. Having exchanged tearful hugs with her mother and a polite farewell with Telna, she returned to the hotel to chat to Mr Homm whilst he finished packing.

Jean-Luc smiled as Deanna came into his quarters. She returned the smile but only briefly so Jean-Luc said,

'Everything all right?'

'Yes…except that Mother and I argued again before she left.'

'What about?'

'The usual. She wants me to go back to Betazed, settle down and have a family.'

'Still? I would have thought that she would know by now that that isn't going to happen?'

'So would I. Every time it's the same refrain, 'Come back to Betazed, find a nice man…' although to be fair she left that one out this time.'

'So she's accepted our relationship?'

'Accepted it? Jean-Luc, she was suggesting jobs that you could do on Betazed, because she wouldn't want you to get bored.'

'Really?' asked Jean-Luc, intrigued despite himself, 'What did she suggest?'

'Teacher…or staying at home to raise the children.'

'She suggested that I should stay at home with the children? She has seen me with children, hasn't she?' said Jean-Luc incredulously.

'Of course she has. You don't think Mother would let a little thing like reality get in the way of her fantasy, do you?'

'I suppose not. Did she tell you how many children we were going to have?'

'No though I've got no doubt that she has a preference…and a list of names.'

By the time that she'd finished, Deanna was annoyed again but when she looked at Jean-Luc she realised that he was amused rather than angry,

'It doesn't bother you?'

Jean-Luc put his arms around her, saying,

'Deanna, we will do what _we _want to do. I have the greatest respect for your mother but we are not going to enact some fantasy for her benefit. Particularly not one that would make us both miserable. You don't want to be grounded any more than I do.'

'No I don't. I love being on the Enterprise, probably almost as much as you do.'

'Well, then, it's settled. We'll stay on the Enterprise and Lwaxana will just have to accept it.'

Deanna snorted at the idea of her mother ever accepting her choice of career but relaxed, reassured by Jean-Luc's unwavering support. Snuggling into his arms, she said,

'Do you have plans for this evening?'

'No.'

'I've got some holodeck time booked. Would you like to join me?'

'I'd be delighted.'

'Good. So, which do you want first? Dinner or sex?'

As Jean-Luc tightened his arms around Deanna, he realised that letting Beverley nag him into taking leave on Ydea was the best thing that had happened to him for years, possibly ever.  
Smiling he led Deanna into the bedroom, saying,

'Sex.'

**The End**

I'm planning a sequel – please let me know if you want it.


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